The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has mobilised over $28 billion to curb the gender divide.
The Secretary-General of ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, revealed this at the 2022 International rural women’s day event organised by Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) in Lagos.
Bogdan-Martin highlighted a wide gap between African women and men in technology, noting that an averagely of 34 per cent of African women use the internet in comparison to 45 per cent of men.
While drumming her support for the organisation’s initiative for rural women to enhance food security in Africa, she stated that records show that women produce over 70 per cent of African foods.
According to the Secretary-General, “In Africa, only 34 per cent of women on average are using the internet compared to 45 per cent of men. That gap is still less in the least developed countries compared to 130 that have any kind of internet access in rural areas. Rural women face even more barriers because ITU figures show only 15 per cent of rural home dwellers are connected compared to 50 per cent of the urban areas.”
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Martin explained that the ITU is positioned to tackle the gap with women in technology, as the organisation has mobilised over $28 billion to curb the gender divide currently expressed in Nigeria and other countries around the world.
She also commended the convener, Martha Alade, for advocating for rural women while assuring the ITU to be of support to foster the growth of rural women in applying technology to enhance better agriculture production.
Founder/CEO of Women in Technology in Nigeria, Martha Alade, explained that the role of technology in boosting farming is pivotal in improving the lives of rural women and their produce in line with the theme “ Rural women’s cultivation of good food for all.”
She also underlined the value of technology in agriculture, from farming to the sale of farm produce.
While speaking with Badagry women farmers at the event, the WITIN CEO assured of her organisation’s unwavering support towards facilitating research on agricultural programs. This support, she said, will improve yields for female farmers, as the organisation will also provide the needed education on the female child’s inclusion in the ICT space, facilitate training for information technology teachers, and also help to forestall cases of gender-based violence.
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Speaking on the role of technology in agriculture, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), who Mrs Oladoyin Aiyenitaju represented, highlighted that ICT aids in improving the efficiency of the food production chain in rural communities. He noted that modern agricultural technology creates more employment and increases efficiency in food production, thereby saving time and money.
Farmers, the majority of whom are rural women, benefit greatly from high levels of technological innovation. Their ability to communicate via smartphones facilitates the sharing of information and its application to their farming process, improves productivity, better methods of harvesting, and the establishment of agency banking points in their community to promote digital financial inclusion, among other things.
Danbatta, however, reassured that the NCC, under the ministry of communication and digital economy in partnership with the ITU, stays committed to this digital inclusivity mandate to create awareness and ensure gender balance and equal opportunities for men and women in Nigeria as the vision tallies with the ITU strategic framework 2022-2023 centred on digital inclusiveness to bridge the digital gap and ensure providing broadband access to all.