The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) is a "once in a generation" opportunity to build a feminist digital future. This was the urgent message shared by speakers and attendants that participated in the Generation Equality high-level event hosted by UN Women, in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and the Leaders of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality.
Every corner of the internet must be open, safe and equal for women and girls
The event "Open, Safe and Equal - Shaping a Feminist Digital Future" was held at the UN Secretariat in New York on Tuesday, March 7, and brought together leaders from across sectors, including governments, civil society organizations, women's rights activists, UN agencies and the private sector to highlight the critical role of multi-stakeholder partnerships in advancing gender equality in the digital world. The event was the first major public-facing moment for Generation Equality since its launch and presented a critical juncture to convey progress as well as action still needed by women and girls around the world.
Moderated by Ms. Sanda Ojiambo, Executive Director and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact, the event kicked off with the announcement of the Generation Equality Midpoint, to be co-hosted by UN Women and the government of Tanzania on 17 September 2023 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly and the SDG Summit.
Ms. Sanda Ojiambo opened the high-level panel with the compelling admonition that "no agenda could be more timely or more needed than that of gender equality and digital technology".
"More than ever, we need massive investment; strategic reforms of our systems. We need accountability to achieve gender equality after the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing world challenges," said Ms. Jeanette Bayisenge, Minister of Gender and Family Promotion of the Government of Rwanda, who announced a Ministerial side event on this topic at the forthcoming Women Deliver Conference, which will take place from 17 to 20 July 2023. Ms. Bayisenge urged attendants to take part in the conference and to voice their ideas for the sake of a better, more inclusive society.
Ms. Marlène Schiappa, Secretary of State of the Government of France, drew attention to Generation Equality's ability to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders in pursuit of a common vision, and how the Action Coalition has strengthened the foundations of feminist digital cooperation. "Together, we can put gender equality at the center of the digital revolution," said Ms. Schiappa, who went on to announce that France will be joining the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality.
"Technology is much too important to be left just to technologists," observed Ms. Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, Co-Founder and Leader of Alliance. "It should be used to assist us to get to where we want to go and a new vision of where we want to be in the 21st century." Ms. Kraft-Buchman emphasized the importance of working in collaboration with technologists to ensure the future they create mirrors the one we envision. In a video message, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized the need to apply a human rights-based approach to digitalization. "What is at stake with this year's CSW theme is the opportunity to achieve a paradigm shift, one that can harness the potential of tech and innovation to accelerate progress on the 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals," noted Ms. Bachelet.
The event was closed by Mr. Thomas Blomqvist, Minister of Nordic Cooperation and Equality of the Government of Finland, who expressed his pleasure that the Action Coalition's blueprint was utilized to inform the substantive preparations for the report of the Secretary General on the CSW priority theme, as well as his hope for a suitably ambitious set of Agreed Conclusions. "This is only the beginning; the conclusions demand robust implementation together," stressed Mr. Blomqvist. "Multi-stakeholder cooperation is required to assess and address the gaps in services, and this is especially urgent in preventing and eliminating tech-facilitated gender-based violence and discrimination."
Watch the full session here:
Generation Equality is the world's leading initiative to accelerate investment and implementation for gender equality. It brings together organizations from every part of society to catalyze progress, advocate for change and take bold actions together.
Learn more about the Generation Equality initiative here: https://forum.generationequality.org/
Learn more about the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality here: https://techforgenerationequality.org/
