WEA marks 3rd anniversary, with more gender-inclusive ecosystem, digital gender gap

 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Bernama) -- The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) brought together senior representatives of its founding partners to mark its third anniversary with a timely discussion ahead of the 67th session Committee on the Status of Women (CSW67) on how to create a more gender-inclusive innovation ecosystem and address the digital gender gap.

According to a statement, this was done in recognition of the intersecting relationships between innovation, technology, the digital space and gender inequality.

For the first time since its inception, CSW67 holistically examined the theme of innovation and technology from a gender perspective, presenting a unique opportunity to explore the gendered impacts of innovation and technology with recommendations that will set a course for a more inclusive and equitable digital economy.

With a mission to address the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, WEA is working to create an enabling digital innovation ecosystem for women entrepreneurs to ensure countries reap the benefits of the digital transformation underway to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable world.

Hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, and convening WEA’s five other United Nations partners, the WEA anniversary event highlighted the need to invest in women entrepreneurs through digital to scale their businesses.

The event officially launched the WEA Digital Innovation Challenge by ITU with the support of Mary Kay Inc, as a key opportunity to advance this agenda.

The event underscored how the digital revolution offers tremendous opportunities to advance women’s economic status by opening up access to knowledge and international markets, and by enabling women to engage with a broader network.

Key takeaways from the event included existing innovation and start-up ecosystems greatly lack gender diversity and are characterised by an uneven distribution of opportunity and financial resources.

Women and girls, and especially those who are at greater risk for multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, are also the primary targets of online violence and abuse, which push them out of public participation, conversations and digital spaces more broadly.

Throughout the event, WEA partners highlighted key areas of work they have advanced in support of women entrepreneurship since the inception of this transformative multi-stakeholder partnership.

-- BERNAMA