WEA CALLS FOR GENDER-INCLUSIVE DIGITAL INNOVATION ECO-SYSTEMS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 (Bernama) -- Leveraging the theme of this year’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) on innovation and technology from a gender perspective, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) CSW side-event, hosted at MetLife’s headquarters in New York City, brought together a high-level panel of experts.

Senior representatives of WEA partner agencies, representatives from the private sector, and civil society discussed ways to build a more gender-responsive eco-system for women entrepreneurs so they can participate and compete in the digital economy.

Addressing the role of innovation and technology from a gender lens for the first time since its inception, the set of agreed conclusions adopted by Member States at CSW67 provide best practice guidance for stakeholders, including governments, the private sector and civil society.

According to WEA in a statement, this guidance aims to promote the full and equal participation and leadership of women and girls in the design and rollout of digital technologies and innovation processes.

Panelists focused on the critical importance of women’s entrepreneurship as a key driver of innovation in addressing societal challenges, and the contribution women entrepreneurs make to economic growth and poverty reduction.

The barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in growing their business and getting their products and services to market were also highlighted which include a lack of access to capital, unequal social norms, lack of connectivity, and time and skills constraints, all of which hamper their ability to compete in the digital marketplace.

The WEA event was also an opportunity to announce the winners of WEA’s Digital Innovation Challenge, an initiative of WEA and conducted by ITU in collaboration with Mary Kay with the objective to build an enabling context for women entrepreneurs by addressing the barriers to women’s entrepreneurship.

The 10 winners of the Challenge were invited to present their two-minute live pitch before an expert Grand Jury at the CSW event comprised of investors and cross-sectoral representatives who each provided their unique insights.

They will gain access to the “Digital Innovation Challenge Acceleration Program” over the coming months where they will receive capacity-building training and a virtual bootcamp to help further refine their business plans as well as specialised mentorship and access to a network of change-makers.

The Challenge was held against the backdrop of a rapidly changing economic context which has seen the rise of digital technologies and the growth of a digital economy, in which it presented an opportunity to discuss digitalisation as a barrier to women’s economic status.

In addition, the high-level panel discussion highlights the importance of women’s entrepreneurship as a critical enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the need to create a more gender-responsive eco-system for women entrepreneurs so they can compete and scale their businesses in the digital economy.

-- BERNAMA