UNRC's message for International Women Day 2023

Hi. Today, March 8, we celebrate International Women's Day 2023 under the topic Digital Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.

Why does this matter? Well, most of us are very familiar with digital tools and use them on a daily basis.

For example, in our banking or financial services or booking a medical appointment, calling or contacting our loved ones, or perhaps through online education.

However, globally, nearly 69 % of men that have access to the Internet versus only 63 % of women.

We see the gap decreasing in a number of countries, including in Cambodia, where, for example, UNESCO has found that currently over a third of female students choose to pursue STEM related fields in higher education.

While the gap between men and women remains significant, we need to continue working on decreasing it and ensure that everyone will have access to digital tools and can be part of the digitalisation of our lives and reap these opportunities.

What does the UN in Cambodia do to help close the gap?

There are a number of initiatives, including, for example, the Generation Future Program, where a group high school students have formed Ladies in tech initiatives to help young women gain gender equality by learning artificial intelligence, networking, and computer science.

We have launched a journal mobile app to help Khmer migrant workers living and working abroad access information and service providers to ensure their safety and that they are informed of all their rights.

We are launching mobile applications to continue working in transforming social norms and address these very prevalent problematic of gender based violence or as well provide access to reproductive health services.

We encourage girls and young women to be given the same opportunities for training in STEM education than men and boys to make sure that this digital divide is being closed.

And we continue to promote ICT education, technological innovation to enable inclusive learning to empower secondary school dropouts, particularly girls with basic education and digital skills to access continuous learning opportunities. Our work is to ensure that women and girls are equally able to reap the benefits of digital technology in Cambodia.

The lack of inclusion, by contrast, would come with a massive cost. We must therefore close this gap. And as we observe the International Women's Day 2023, we recognize and celebrate the women and girls around the world and in Cambodia who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education and ensuring equality for all.

Happy International Women's Day 2023.