UNDP Digital Guides - Gender Equal Economies

Introduction

The Human Development Report shows that in many countries progress towards gender equality stopped or has reversed since 2015. Gender inequalities are widening; social and economic systems that generate discrimination have remained unchanged. With its Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025, UNDP has elevated its ambition to help governments shift power structures that generate these inequalities.

Both the Gender Equality Strategy and the Digital Strategy 2022-2025 identify digitalization as an enabler that accelerates progress towards gender equal economies.

Digital technologies have become critical to the information we receive in the news every day, the knowledge we acquire, and the decisions we make. Global economies, finance, society, and politics are ever more connected. Being disconnected means being excluded, from everything. This is a new form of inequality that creates new power relations: new forms of empowerment and disempowerment.

The way we design and apply new technology has the power to reshape entire societies and economic systems. This requires us to be intentional not only with respect to digital inclusion, but in developing gender transformative National Digital Strategies as a whole.

Key messages

At the rate of progress there has been thus far it will take a further 300 years to achieve full gender equality. But even that might be optimistic: the Human Development Report shows that progress towards gender equality has stopped or reversed since 2015 in many countries. In fact, gender inequalities are widening as the social and economic systems that generate discrimination have remained unchanged. It therefore goes without saying that the world is not on track to achieve SDG 5 (Gender Equality) Gender inequalities are magnified even more in the face of the overlapping crises we face. Women were disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, and continue to face disproportionate consequences in the Covid recovery and are disproportionately vulnerable to future pandemics. Women are disproportionately at risk from climate impacts and face greater impacts from conflict and violence. And women's' increased economic vulnerability makes supply chain and cost of living issues even more critical.
The way we design and apply new technology has the power to reshape entire societies and economic systems. The post smartphone world is unrecognisable to the pre smartphone world, just as there are few lives in the world that have been untouched by the invention of the internet, even if they themselves are still offline. This makes it necessary to be intentional with respect to digital inclusion, and in National Digital Strategies as a whole.
The digitalization of economic structures and institutions can reduce or widen gender inequalities.. Progress towards gender-equal economies can be enabled through improving public financial management to ensure equitable distribution of resources, eliminating labour segregation to promote equal opportunities in the workforce, addressing financial and digital exclusion to empower women in the economy and reducing biases and social norms that perpetuate gender inequality.
Digital public financial management alone can change the rules of the game. Digitalization of public financial management can facilitate the development and monitoring of gender-responsive budgeting, tax reforms for gender equality and inclusive participatory budgeting processes. It can also improve transparency, efficiency and accountability and allow social protection policies and care services to better reach and respond to the needs of all.
We are also seeing how digital registries and online applications are facilitating the access of women and of minorities left behind to public cash transfers. With UNDP support, Sierra Leone developed an open-source system for 30,000 healthcare workers called OpenG2P during the Ebola response. This was re-imagined during the COVID-19 response as a platform for dispersing welfare payments.
Financial Technology (FinTech) can facilitate financial inclusion as never imagined before. However, the gender digital divide is widening the existing financial exclusion of women. A lack of access to funding and digital technologies, less specific digital training and a lack of digital entrepreneurship role models, threaten women entrepreneurs' ability to take advantage of opportunities offered by digital markets.
It is crucial that we consider the power of digital technologies in the context of the Future of Work. While e-commerce and other digital solutions are helping women and men to untap new market segments, new technologies present a number of challenges to gender and other forms of intersectional inequality, such as the gender digital skills; the gender bias in algorithms that may be used to scan applicants; or the prevalence of online sexual harassment and GBV that may discourage women from entering into the digital economy.
Being disconnected equates to being excluded from various aspects of life. Gender digital exclusion represents a new form of inequality that gives rise to new power dynamics and social norms, leading to new forms of empowerment and disempowerment. Globally, 2.7 billion people are unconnected, and women make up the majority. Men are still 21 percent more likely to be online than women, rising to 52 percent in the least developed countries. However, we can harness these technologies to reverse this situation. For example, we are using Artificial Intelligence to track gender hate speech, monitor existing gender biases, and gather evidence to inform better gender-responsive policies in Uruguay, the Philippines, Colombia and Uganda.
Closing the gender digital divide also leads to economic growth. Indeed it is essential for the economic growth of developing and developed economies, while the cost of exclusion of women from the digital space have deep economic impacts.
As countries strive to develop their digital infrastructure and implement increasingly advanced technologies, UNDP supports them in building a digital transition towards gender equal economies and societies. To achieve this, UNDP helps countries put measurable gender equality goals at the centre of their national digital strategies.. Moreover, UNDP fosters dialogue among members of the women's rights movement, policymakers and the private sector to advocate for regulations that uphold gender equality and women's rights in the digital sphere.

3.2 billion people in low- and middle-income countries access the internet in a mobile phone. Across low- and middle-income countries, the gender gap in mobile internet had dropped annually from 25 percent in 2017, but rose again to 16 percent in 2021, translating into 264 million fewer women than men likely to use mobile internet.
The divide in mobile internet use is most stark in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa where the gender gap scores 41 percent and 37 percent respectively.
Compared to men, women are 25 percent less likely to use ICT for basic purposes.
The share of men graduates in ICT is 400 percent higher than women (8.2 percent versus 1.7 percent).
If current trends continue it will be 2080 before women are involved in half of all patented inventions within the five largest intellectual property offices.
Women make up only 28 percent of the board seats of corporations operating in STEM related industries, while the share of female CEOs and women in management is only 3 percent and 17 percent respectively.
Over the last decade low and lower-middle income countries missed $1 trillion dollars in GDP and $126 billion dollars in 2020 alone as a consequence of the exclusion of women from digital spaces.
More than one billion women are still not using or still do not have access to the financial system.
Globally, only 2.8 percent of venture capital went to women-led start-ups in 2019, and this figure fell to 2.3 percent in 2020.
By the mid-2030s up to 26 percent of women's jobs may be automated.

Opportunities and risks

This segment should be used as a basis for forming programme-level theories of change, informing project design and implementation, and providing inspiration to programme teams on how digital can support or undermine programme activities for gender equal economies.  

Fiscal and social policies

Digital technologies can help unlock gender responsive fiscal and social policies and improve public financial management: for example platforms for delivering government services, platforms for decentralized data storage and consent-based data and platforms for payments and digital ID help to increase the cost-effectiveness of social service delivery.
Increased access to online services: A digital identity has the potential to make women's lives easier by enabling their access to social protection, mobile connectivity, financial products, education and even jobs. Digital and e-services also allow women and girls, including women and girls with disabilities, older women and women and girls from remote communities to have access to e-health and tele-medicine services. 
Improved care systems and solutions to address time poverty and reduce the unpaid care burden: women spend disproportionately more time than men on unpaid care responsibilities. This significantly reduces their available time for skill development or paid employment. Digital and technological innovations can be used to design gender responsive care systems and deploy solutions to reduce time poverty and the care burden.

Inclusive digital labour markets

Digitally enabled employment opportunities have the potential to bridge occupational segregation and foster women's participation in the labour market: Digital transformation processes offer women and girls with enhanced opportunities to transition to digital-enabled and related forms of employment, including in STEM and ICT fields. Gig work and teleworking also offer flexibility and enhanced opportunities to balance personal and professional life, enabling women to enter or re-enter to the labour market, especially after pandemic-induced employment disruptions. At the same time stereotyping and bias can still persist and even be exacerbated in digital spaces, and flexibility can also lead to precarity and to the blurring of the lines between work and personal life, with greater consequences for women. Thus digital transformation processes need to think holistically about the future of work.
Increased education/skilling opportunities: Digital technologies enhance education, mentoring and training opportunities, and enable women to have better access to information. For example, immersive technologies, spatial technologies, 3D data visualization and gamified applications can be used for more effective mentoring and training programmes.

Unlocking the power of connectivity

Increased access to information and data to strengthen women's agency: The monopolization of information and knowledge is a key barrier to women participating in the economy. Digital means can be used to address the information gap and promote women's agency. For example, data produced by “internet of things” (IoT) technologies in agriculture can be used by women to increase the productivity of their yields; while chatbots with customized legal advice can help unlock women's land property or access tailored vocational counselling services. 
Expanded market opportunities and access to financial services and assets: Digital technologies and technological innovations offer a myriad of possibilities for women to access financial services, insurance and other assets, to tap into new markets, to increase management efficiency and more. From mobile wallets and e-commerce platforms to blockchain technologies certifying women's products, applications are endless. 
Technology-based energy solutions for livelihood generation in the green economy: Access to energy is a pre-condition for women to escape multidimensional poverty, build the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the digital economy and increase the efficiency of their entrepreneurial endeavours. It also offers avenues for green jobs generation for women in the distribution, sale and maintenance of clean energy solutions.

Digital transformation & business and innovation ecosystems

Gender responsive business and innovation ecosystems can help unlock the from different backgrounds potential of those of all genders as creators in the digital economy. Tailored incubation and acceleration services that meet the needs and the strategic interests from women from different backgrounds (such as people living with HIV and LGBTQI+ people), customized Business Development Services (BDS), and business skills training have the potential to unlock the entrepreneurial power of women as founders and creators.
‍Digital technologies can help women from different backgrounds in the transition from low-scale income generating activities to successful enterprises. Technological innovations are already helping to bring basic livelihood generating activities to medium-to-large business scale. For example, geospatial location technologies, 3D visualization models, and immersive technologies are being utilized to develop business mentorship schemes, entrepreneurial skills training, and peer-to-peer business networks.
‍The digital transformation of gender responsive business and innovation ecosystems can help to address gender inequalities. Social enterprises, tech start-ups and social entrepreneurs are harnessing the market power of the SDGs to tackle gender inequalities through innovative business models. From the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies such as GBV panic buttons, apps to create women-led mentorship networks, and devices bringing Wi-Fi connection, energy and clean water to entire communities, new digital business model generation possibilities are endless.
‍The impact of AI and machine learning on gender equality is a complex and two-sided phenomenon, but one which contains opportunities. On the one hand, AI has played a significant role in analysing data to identify gender disparities and patterns, mitigating gender biases and analysing social media posts or other digital sources to monitor gender hate speech and send signals to governments and civil society organizations. For example, UNDP has prototyped a Gender Social Media Monitoring Tool in Uganda, Colombia and the Philippines. However, AI can deepen inequalities and cause harm, particularly for women. As patriarchal society gives women more to lose with respect to reputation and social standing women are exposed to greater risks from AI that produces deep fakes or digital images and audio that are artificially altered or manipulated.. It is undeniable that gender biases are reproduced by AI technologies whose algorithms are trained by biased programmers shaped by discriminatory social norms, and on datasets generated from our unequal world, and this can have adverse results when women apply for credit or for jobs which utilize algorithmic decision-making processes.

Social norms

Social norm and behavioural transformation: Technology can drive behaviour change and is already being used to break discriminatory social norms. For example: VR, augmented reality and immersive technologies can be used to fight gender-based discrimination allowing users to experience key moments in feminist history, embody a woman in a men-dominated occupation or face complex workplace interactions. 
**Digitally- and technology- enabled solutions address gender-based violence:. Web-based services, mobile apps and geolocation devices can help connect GBV survivors to emergency services and save their lives. AI technologies can track gender hate speech and mis/disinformation across social media helping shape better policies. 
‍Digital technologies can help reverse the backlash against gender equality: To respond to the stagnation and reversal of gender equality and resistances to advancements in women’s rights, the current Gender Equality Strategy includes for the first time the objective of strengthening the understanding of, and response to, the backlash through research, new tools and sharper measurements.

Social norms, biases and stereotypes widen the digital gender divide: Social norms and gender stereotypes might prevent women and girls from taking complete advantage of the social and economic opportunities offered by digital technologies. For instance, stereotypes regarding a woman's role within the society might prevent them from choosing STEM fields in tertiary education. A lack of role models and gender-blind training curriculums and materials also create barriers. Gender norms and cultural stereotypes also impact women's and girls' access to digital devices, especially in low-income households, where access to computing resources may be redirected from girls and women to boys and men.
Affordability of equipment and data: Affordability remains one of the main barriers to digital access for women's and girls, given that they have lower income levels on average . High data tariffs and expensive handsets exacerbate this problem, particularly in areas with lower connectivity limits choice. While digitalization reached an unprecedented pace during the COVID-19 pandemic, women still make up the majority of the 2.7 billion unconnected people. Men are up to 52 percent more likely to be online than women, who are 25 percent less likely to use ICT for basic purposes, and four times less likely than men to have advanced ICT skills.  
Gender biased product and service design: The underrepresentation of women as ICT developers and the consideration of men as default recipients, can result in services that unintentionally reinforce gender biases, or fail in addressing women's needs. Technologies based on algorithmic design and machine learning such as credit scoring applications, voice-recognition systems, search engines or platforms for employee recruitment, reproduce and sometimes multiply and exacerbate the gender bias of the analogue world. 
Lack of digital training, funding and employment opportunities: Women are underrepresented in tech field and in the C-suite of tech companies. Women face barriers to developing and improving the skills needed to access those jobs. Additionally, a discriminatory working environment impacts women's retention and progression. Due to discrimination, inequality in funding access and availability of training and professional opportunities women-owned tech start-ups and women-owned e-commerce businesses tend to be smaller, less well funded and have more limited growth potential compared to those owned by men. 
Cyberviolence, cyber safety and technology-facilitated violence: The internet and digital technology bear great potential in empowering women from different backgrounds , but can also pose relevant threats to their socio-economic empowerment. Women are 27 times more likely to face harassment online than men. Women who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including women of colour, women with disabilities, LGBTQI+ persons and women's rights defenders remain at the greatest risk of online harassment and abuse and violence such as cyber harassment, cyber stalking, non-consensual intimate image abuse, grooming for sexual purposes, gender-based hate speech, and other different and new types of GBV that appear in games or in new platforms such as the metaverse). These attacks often compel women and girls to self-censor, decrease their participation or leave social media platforms altogether, limiting their freedom of expression and affecting democracy and societies as a whole.
Gender blind digital policies exacerbate inequalities that deepen the gender digital divide: The lack of gender analysis and disaggregated data - by gender, age, disability status, location - informing policies, and the failure to adopt an intersectional approach to digital policies, makes it difficult to address relevant barriers and meet women's and girls' needs. Gender blind digital policies exacerbate inequalities that then deepen the gender digital divide. For example, universal connectivity policies unaccompanied by policy measures that foster women's access to equipment and data will inevitably leave women behind.

Programming suggestions

Gender Equal Economies encompasses a broad array of programmatic approaches, project decisions and capacity strengthening goals. Here we highlight three areas with particular relevance to a whole-of-society approach to this issue. However, this does not discount the relevance of the other elements of UNDP’s Digital Strategy, some of which are in a core of UNDP’s digital programming for Gender Equality. It is important that we view this guide and the ‘Governance and State Capabilities’ digital guide in complement to each other as they are interconnected. We recommend that you explore the Digital Compass in order to consider how those in contexts similar to your own have approached these issues.

UNDP’s approach to expanding digitalization for gender equal economies

UNDP embraces an integrated approach to achieving gender equality in economies, with the goal of transforming the economic and power systems that generate and maintain gender inequalities. This approach encompasses eradicating gender-based discrimination and segregation in the job market, facilitating women's enhanced utilization of digital technologies, digital finance, e-commerce and digital value chains, and advocating for policies, laws, and regulations that guarantee women equal entitlements to property, credit, land and natural resources. The economic security and empowerment of women must also be central to sustainable recovery plans following disasters.

Digital technologies can shape how public services, private markets and public financial management work. Extending gender-responsive digital public and financial services, as well as leveraging digital tools for income generation and entrepreneurship, are pivotal elements in advancing women's economic empowerment within the Gender Equality Strategy (2022-2025). The utilization of digital tools and technologies can serve as catalysts for amplifying women's voices and agency by connecting women's rights activists, women's organizations, feminist movements, and more, thus increasing their visibility and strengthening their networks. National Digital Strategies are the main instrument to advance this agenda.

UNDP understands that the health and prosperity of societies significantly depends on how people navigate their digital lives, making it essential to establish the right digital parameters now. That includes Digital Public Infrastructure -- or DPI -- which represents the 'railroad tracks' (digital ID and payment systems) upon which countries can build new services (e-healthcare and e-governance) that the public can access around the clock and at the tips of their fingers. This means that people can avoid often costly trips from rural villages to cities, a significant barrier in many developing countries that disproportionately impacts women.

As the future of work becomes increasingly digital, and as forms and cultures of commerce shift accordingly, job displacement is likely Remarkably, 11 percent of jobs currently held by women are at risk of being eliminated by digital technology, a higher percentage than for jobs held by men.

Global economies, finance, society and politics are all deeply intertwined. Therefore, addressing the intersections between sustainable development, climate, gender equality, and digital technologies will be critical.

UNDP's approach to use digital transformation as an accelerator for gender equal economies is grounded on five building blocks informed by UNDP's Digital Transformation Framework. It is important to view this guide and the 'Governance and State Capabilities' digital guide (coming soon) as complementary. As approaches may vary depending on the country context, we recommend exploring the Digital Compass to discover example approaches in relevant contexts.

Figure 1. UNDP's Approach: Digitalization to further Gender Equal Economies
*Source: UNDP (2023)*

Digital public services and platforms

Fiscal and Social Policies
‍Fiscal and social policies, and public financial management conduct a gender-responsive digital transition.

Advocate for the adoption of redistributive, progressive gender equal digitalized tax systems that recognize women's unpaid care work and promote economic and gender equality and equal access to gender responsive public services.
Advocate for the relevant gender specific data to be disaggregated by individuals, household composition and contextualizing economic and fiscal categories in order to enable detailed gender impact analysis of tax laws, budgets, and governments expenditures.
Support gender responsive budgeting and gender transformative public investments in digitalized government services such as platforms for interoperable payments, digital ID, tax returns, VAT refunds, land management, immigration services and gender responsive social services in areas such as healthcare and education.
Advocate for the removal of explicit gender bias in tax policies and addressing implicit gender bias by leveraging technology to end harmful tax practices and regressive taxation measures.
Advocate for subsidies and decreased tariffs: Collaborate with governments and the private sector to ensure that the internet and digital tools are affordable and practically accessible, particularly to women. Encourage solutions such as lowering costs of the internet, providing access to services in local languages, reviewing taxes and fees and enhancing incentives to boost ownership and access.
Support the development of fiscal investments to foster women's digital literacy and access to foundational infrastructure: Ensure the central role of national women's machineries and work with line ministries - such as the ministries of economy, finance and education - to coordinate and ensure gender-responsive budgeting measures are implemented to benefit women and girls in the digital age, and in particular fiscal investments are made in women's basic and advanced digital literacy, as well as in ensuring access to Internet and to digital technologies and equipment.
Leverage public investments to develop gender responsive Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Digital Public Goods (DPG) that foster gender equal economies: Digital public goods, with their open-source nature, offer a unique opportunity to tackle pressing gender inequalities. As a co-host of the Digital Public Goods Alliance UNDP has supporting countries in the development of digital public infrastructure put at the heart of its work. To encourage the development of gender responsive DPG and DPI, UNDP with the support of the Government of Japan, through Digital X, launched ‘The Women Economic Catalyst' challenge in 2022.

Digital literacy skills

Inclusive Digital Labour Markets
The gender divide in the ICT industry is reduced and digitalization of labour markets helps to eliminate vertical and horizontal gender segregation in the Future of Work‍

Support the development of gender responsive labour policies and take an ecosystem approach to enhancing women's equal access to roles and career advancement in the tech field and beyond: Strengthen policy dialogues with governments, training institutions and employers in the ICT industry to ensure upskilling interventions are aligned to sectoral labour demands. Promote decent employment and address the problem of precarity and informality of the gig economy through gender responsive digital policies. Ensure policies consider the needs in crisis settings where gig-based livelihoods compromise long-term access to quality employment opportunities, particularly for women refugees.
Support the advancement of inclusive and accessible women's digital literacy skills: Develop and ensure access to gender-responsive STEM education and support formal and non-formal training in STEM fields, including those aimed at expanding digital literacy, developing basic and advance digital skills, and those amplifying access to STEM-related education and careers. Suggested actions include:
- Enhancing the production, collection and evaluation of data (disaggregated by sex, age, disability and more) to inform digital skilling, re-skilling and upskilling programs tailored to different needs and circumstances.
- Developing gender-responsive sectoral occupational profiles to inform current and future trends in labour demand, both in the public and private sector.
- Building partnerships with the education sector to support teachers to enhance their use of digital tools in schools and other institutions, including ongoing training support with respect to gender-sensitive and safe content, and cultivate interest among young girls in STEM. 
- Collaborating with women's organisations and networks in the design of relevant training materials and programmes.
- Supporting academia and tech institutions and local women's organisations to train women and girls in rural areas, particularly those with low literacy, in basic digital skills.
- ensuring the adoption of a combination of teaching modalities that fit women's needs and expectations, including for example tech camps, competitions, mentoring programmes and online courses.
Leverage frontier technologies in upskilling and re-skilling initiatives: Identify opportunities in VR, augmented reality, metaverse, 3D visualizing, geospatial location and immersive environments as avenues for learning technical skills or implementing mentorship programmes.
‍Help companies in the ICT sector, tech firms, digital platforms and telecommunications operators to transform business practices to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment: For example, help them to assess gender gaps preventing women’s progression across the career ladder using the UNDP-powered “Equality@Work Online Platform” or help them to achieve the “UNDP Gender Equality Seal for Private Sector” qualification.

‍UNDP’s Gender Equality Seal for Private Sector

The Gender Equality Seal for Private Sector is an innovative programme engaging the private sector in the achievement of excellency standards to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the business world. The GES is a tool for private enterprises to come together and contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The programme has created a dynamic partnership between the private sector, public sector, trade unions and UNDP with a tool to develop public policy, foster constructive dialogue, invite companies to go from commitment to action and provide evidence of their efforts to tackle the most pressing gender inequalities.

Dimensions addressed by the Seal

The Gender Equality Seal for Private Sector rests upon gender equality impacts across eight critical areas of companies’ operations. Thus, the business sector commits to transforming regulations, policies, procedures, operations and organizational culture across:

Governance and strategy: Integrating gender equality in organizational management.
Remuneration: Detecting and eliminating gender-based pay gaps.
Professional development: Increasing women’s role in decision-making at middle and upper management levels.
Work-life balance and care: Improving work-life balance and embracing a shared social responsibility.
Recruitment and selection: Increasing minority gender presence in occupational areas that are traditionally one gender dominated.
Gender-based violence and sexual harassment prevention and management: Ensuring zero tolerance for sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the workplace.
Marketing and communication: Ensuring inclusive and non-sexist communication is used internally and externally.
Supply chain management: Including a gender perspective across the supply chain and include=ing women-owned businesses.

More information: www.genderequalityseal.org | www.gendersealprivatesector.org

Businesses and financial services

Financial and Digital Inclusion
Financial exclusion and the gender digital divide are reduced, particularly in entrepreneurship and access to value chains.

Enable greater inclusion of women users in all their diversity.

Design user friendly gender responsive tools and content: Design and develop user-friendly versions of websites, tools, applications and digital services to enhance accessibility. Ensure design considers the barriers faced by women, particularly from vulnerable groups who may have lower literacy skills and/or disabilities. Simplify content, where possible, and enhance the adoption of tools such as chat boxes and voice search. Ensure appropriate gender and socially sensitive training is provided on how to leverage these tools so they do not deter those who are new to such technologies.
Leverage data to identify inequalities in access and usage: Enhance the use of disaggregated data and indicators and conduct regular surveys to identify and analyse context specific barriers faced by women and men to own and use digital tools and technologies. Support the strengthening of national statistics' agencies in the generation of sex-disaggregated data, the improvement of data collection tools and the ability to incorporate gender analysis. Partner with think tanks, research and academic institutions to find new sources of information that help validate and strengthen data and findings.
Monitor the implementation: Monitor dedicated measures to address inequalities in access, usage, and ownership of digital tools on a regular basis. Leverage evaluation to inform how access and usage can be improved for people, including women from different backgrounds.

Capital flows, investments and digital financial inclusion.

Tailor products and services (including Fintech) for unique needs of women: Women's needs vary over their life; these needs can be met by a wide range of digital financial products and services. Therefore, the design of interventions may be based on the age demographic of girls and women. For example, school aged girls may need saving or loan products for education purposes, while adult women, may need cash for daily expenses or investments for business ventures and older women may need financial products to cover health expenses and post-retirement income.
Leverage UNDP's expertise in promoting community savings groups to both incentivize the uptake of financial literacy and build women's saving capacity: e Digital technologies such as platforms, apps and systems to digitize operations can keep tracking of goals achieved and start building credit history, and so unlock access to resources from formal financial institutions.
Help structure innovative gender responsive financial instruments: Financial instruments such as gender bonds, sustainability bonds or thematic bonds with a strong gender equality focus, can create access to capital needed to fund the digitalization of women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the work of women innovators and those advancing critical projects such as climate innovations for women farmers.. UNDP has the capacity to support six key steps to issuing bonds: engaging government stakeholders, establishing gender responsible bond frameworks, identifying eligible budget items, arranging an independent external review, issuing the Bond, monitoring and reporting.
Help catalyse gender lens impact investments: Support in catalysing investments that have a mandate to fund enterprises that: work to improve the lives of women and girls, that are led by women or that develop gender responsive technology or the infrastructure needed to unlock women's participation in the digital economy (such as enhanced care systems or stronger GBV prevention and response systems). Help connect private capital with investment pipelines (through initiatives such as SDG Investor maps), help facilitate and structure blended finance solutions between public, bilateral/multilateral and commercial investors. Track the gender equality impacts of capital flows using digital technologies.
Digitalization of cash transfers: Support the digitalization of government cash transfers to catalyse women's digital financial inclusion.
Support guarantees and collateral: Work in partnership with development banks and IFIs to support the development of gender responsive guarantee schemes to facilitate access to digital financial products and services, considering barriers faced by women and other marginalised groups.

Access to markets and gender responsive digital transformations

Help improve access to market information: leveraging innovative data sources and digital technologies, particularly for women. For example, tailored support for women farmers to track international commodity prices or strengthening the capacity of women cooperatives to identify export markets with potential.
Leverage blockchain technologies to expand women's access to markets: use labelling of women-owned or women-produced goods and services to open access premium and specialty markets such as those for organic, fair trade and green products.
Leverage e-commerce solutions and social media-based markets: to increase and strengthen access to new markets, especially for MSMEs, women cooperatives and farmers and women refugee owned businesses. Partner with private or social e-commerce partners to leverage their technology, experience, customer base and logistics channels to support the scaling of businesses and opening doors for new markets.
Develop gender responsive Suppliers Development Programmes (SDPs): to improve business access to new digital markets. Support the technology sector to develop gender responsive supply chains. Use SDP programme principles to support the digitalization of women owned MSMEs.

Innovation ecosystem

Digital & Business and Innovation Ecosystems
‍Digital and business ecosystems are gender-responsive and foster women’s inclusion in the digital economy.

Cultural norms

Social Norms
‍Biases and social norms challenged, and women empowered to influence National Digital Strategies and Digital Transformation Journeys

Leverage digital technologies to help reverse the backlash against gender equality: UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 includes for the first time the objective to strengthen the understanding of and response to the backlash through research, new tools and sharper measurements.
Digitally and technology-enabled solutions to address gender based-violence: Digital applications and technological innovations can be used to prevent and address GBV which disproportionately impacts women and excludes them from fully participating in the economy. For example, web-based services, mobile apps or geolocation devices can help connect GBV survivors to emergency services and have the potential to save lives.
Increase awareness raising and advocacy efforts: Use evidence-based, data-driven concepts to demonstrate the potential that digital technologies have to reduce inequalities and advance gender equality and women's empowerment.
Leverage data to identify gender inequalities: Undertake gender analysis to ensure AI and machine learning models do not reproduce the gender biases of the analogue world. Conduct gender analysis with sex-disaggregated data to understand restrictive social norms preventing women's and girls’ access to and use of digital technologies. Identify other intersecting inequalities linked to age, disability, digital literacy, poverty level and location (urban/rural), among others.
Co-create digital solutions with final users: Ensure solutions leave no one behind by cocreating use cases and functionalities and collaborating with users to understand user experience and barriers. Co-design processes help Ensure products and services do not perpetuate inequalities due to the presence of gender bias. Involve and consider women, especially from vulnerable groups, at the start of the process so their unique needs and priorities inform the solutions created.
Establish partnerships to address social norms: Partner with civil society, governments, educators, technology companies and media to address social norms hindering women, girls and other marginalised groups’ access to digital tools, STEM and digital education opportunities, and to combat gender expectations especially those in digital labour markets and global value chains. For example, partner with governments, other UN agencies and the private sector to develop campaigns with women STEM role models, and offer mentoring opportunities for women in the first phases of their career in STEM fields.
Ensure the involvement of gender experts and women's organisations in identifying potential risks and unintended consequences of emerging technologies. For example, e-commerce platforms or social media channels such as WhatsApp or Facebook may trigger power imbalances in the household which expose women to the risk of domestic violence.
Test alternative behavioural interventions: For example, partner with mobile providers to give full access to equipment and data at free or at very reduced costs. Interventions like this might be helpful to break gender barriers deeply rooted in social norms such as the. preferential bias in favour of men to assign scarce digital resources for economic or productive purposes..
Access to safe devices: Provide women and girls with access to ICT and other technologies in safe public spaces, addressing cultural norms that prevent their free access. Equip women and girls with tools and skills to strengthen their ability to identify, manage, prevent and respond to digital GBV and technology facilitated violence.
Partner with care providers and social organisations to address restrictive social norms: Ensure restrictive social norms deep-seated in societal and cultural contexts do not compromise women’s participation in educational or economic activities. Partner with care providers to address time poverty experienced predominantly by women due to the burden of unpaid care.
‍Create enabling environments in ICT companies to enable greater attraction and retention of women and other marginalised individuals: Put mechanisms in place to identify gender bias in recruitment and selection process in the ICT industry and increase retention of women employees. Leverage the UNDP Gender Equality Seal for the Private Sector to establish gender responsive systems in professional development and performance evaluations. Nurture the pipeline of women leaders and establish measures to address key barriers for their progression. Implement policies to ensure work-life balance, access to appropriate care solutions, flexible leave and paternity leave and to prevent sexual harassment. Provide executive training programmes and opportunities for capacity development that are tailored to women’s unique needs. Ensure capacity development and awareness raising is provided to male and other employees to ensure unintended consequences are avoided and that there is strong support and political will to support women talent.

Stakeholders

Digital programming for Gender Equal Economies requires bringing together key public and private stakeholders from the digital and business and innovation ecosystems, governments at both national and sub-national levels, women’s organizations and digital justice organizations alike. These stakeholders should be engaged to reinforce the capacity of each digital framework pillar and so provide the basis for digitalization to achieve gender equal economies.

Governments
Government, at both national and sub-national levels, should be engaged to develop and deploy gender transformative national digital strategies and digitalization policies. These strategies must include measurable gender equality goals and effective policies to ensure that digitalization is an enabler of women’s inclusion in the economy. Targeted public investment can ensure wide reaching internet connectivity, and ensure that roadblocks to women’s agency in the digital world are removed (e.g. skills, equipment, digital safety, funding). Policies aimed at encouraging the development of digital solutions and technological innovations must ensure they foster the advancement of the SDGs, particularly those key for gender equality, and must adopt specific measures to support women tech founders and entrepreneurs. Key line ministries include, but are not limited to, ministries of finance and economics, digital and ICT, trade, education and labour.
Big tech firms, telecommunication companies and digital platforms
Mobile operators and technology providers can provide avenues to expand women’s access to connectivity and equipment at affordable rates. For example, offering tailored incentives for women customers to adopt ICT. Public private partnerships with these stakeholders are critical to ensure women’s connectivity and the uptake of technology and digital solutions. In addition, tech firms are key to overcome barriers for women’s and other gender vulnerable populations’ access, retention and progress in STEM fields and the tech industry. For example, they must be engaged with to estimate the demand for ICT positions, to remove barriers to women’s recruitment and selection in the tech industry, to promote women’s leadership in the digital sector, to develop new SDG-aligned business models to tackle gender inequalities, and to advocate for digital rights and justice.
‍Women’s organizations, women’s movements and digital rights and justice organizations
This is key for example to ensure digital products meet women’s and other vulnerable gender populations’ needs and strategic interests. These organizations are furthermore crucial to propel social norms and cultural transformation.
Private sector, IFIs, investors, Venture Capital (VC) firms, angel investors and other financial institutions
The involvement of the private sector is valuable in shaping policies and fostering impactful public-private partnerships. These collaborations can also extend to social venture partners and philanthropic organizations. This is of paramount importance for achieving gender equal economies. The private sector is also a key stakeholder for women’s career progress and entrepreneurship opportunities, especially in e-commerce, digital financial inclusion and as innovators and founders of tech start-ups. Business federations, chambers of commerce and sectoral organizations are critical partners in ensuring digital strategies and policies are gender transformative. IFIs, investors, VC firms and other financial institutions are also key to develop gender transformative DPGs and DPIs, to expand the reach of foundational infrastructure, to fund women-led tech enterprises, to develop gender responsive Fintech products, to put in place blended finance mechanisms aimed at funding disruptive business models and technological innovations advancing gender equality, to name a few.
Academia
Academia plays a key role in the collection and disaggregation of data, and the development of analyses highlighting challenges, barriers and risks faced by women from different backgrounds in the digital world. Academia is also a key stakeholder for addressing social norms and stereotypes, including in women’s and girls’ access to STEM education and careers. They also play a key role adapting their curriculums to the evolving needs of the labour market digital skills, but also technical and tertiary training and the soft skills needed to remain in the world of work.
‍Business incubators, accelerators, and BDS providers
Key players of the digital and business and innovation ecosystems include venture accelerators, business incubators, and Business Development Service (BDS) providers. For their services to fit the needs and strategic interests of women from different backgrounds – such as LGBTQI+ people or people living with HIV –, they must be gender responsive. This means they have to use relevant content, use appropriate and accessible channels, allocate time for business skills and digital literacy training at appropriate hours, foster the development of mentorship and peer-to-peer networks, help amplify women’s social and business networks, and more. ‍

Programming examples

Opportunities for Gender Equal Economies 
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STEM4ALL

UNDP-UNICEF STEM4ALL platform, with over 200 members in 37 countries and territories, is nurturing the pipeline of women “STEMinists” in Europe and Central Asia, by giving them access to mentorship opportunities, data, funding opportunities, skills training and more.

Gender

Gender Equal Economies

e-ID system in Sierra Leone

With the support of UNDP the e-ID system in Sierra Leone – a digital identification system that uses Blockchain technology – is reaching 5.1 million citizens and giving opportunities to millions of women – most of them internally displaced people (IDPs) – to access bank accounts and financial services.

Gender Equal Economies

Care Georeferencing Tool

UNDP in Latin America is combining urban traditional analysis with georeferencing technologies, crowd mapping and web scraping through a “Care Georeferencing Tool” that allows public and private care providers to be mapped and matches services with those in need of care. Watch this video to learn more on the use of this tool in the re-vamping of Bogota’s Care System.

Gender Equal Economies

Solar powered OffGridBox technology

Solar-powered technologies used for water collection have the potential to substantially reduce the amount of time women spend fetching water. For example: the solar-powered OffGridBox technology installed in Tanzania with UNDP support provides up to 1,000 litres of drinking water and charges up to 130 power banks. Previously women were walking on average 4 km four times a day to collect water for cooking, drinking and cleaning. Watch this video to hear the story of Hamida Rajab Amasi, one of the “boxkeepers” in Mtavira village.

Gender Equal Economies

Diia

UNDP Ukraine helped develop Diia, leveraging a DPG called OpenG2P created with the government of Sierra Leone and local open source innovators during the Ebola crisis. The platform allows smartphone access to more than 80 governmental services, so avoiding financial assistance duplications among IDPs and enabling improved coordination with humanitarian organizations during the time of war.

Gender Equal Economies

Supportive digital public infrastructure

DPI is also helping to dismantle barriers to trade face by women in Africa; supportive digital public infrastructure will be critical to the success of efforts to strengthen livelihoods, enabling small and medium enterprises, women and youth-led businesses to access the massive continental market of 1.3 billion people.

Gender Equal Economies

A call to source DPGs that can help combat information pollution and restore information integrity

UNDP and the Digital Public Goods Alliance, with support from Omidyar Network and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, launched in 2023 a call to source DPGs that can help combat information pollution and restore information integrity. The individuals, organisations, and teams behind selected digital public goods and concepts will receive financial support ranging from $5,000 – $10,000 USD and have their work highlighted at the Nobel Prize Summit. These solutions will also be integrated in the Digital X Solutions Catalogue to help facilitate further implementation and uptake from UNDP’s network of country offices.

Gender Equal Economies

Future Nation

Future Nation in Bangladesh, with UNDP, Grameenphone and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) support, developed a digital assessment portal through which the user is presented with appropriately designed aptitude, psychometric and specific skill-centric tests that evaluate the user in two broad dimensions: employment and employability; and entrepreneurship and creditworthiness.

Gender Equal Economies

IT Girls Summer School

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of UNDP, UNICEF and UN Women, the IT Girls initiative implements the IT Girls Summer School to enable girls to acquire coding and robotics skills to support the design of projects to make Sarajevo into a “smart city”.

Gender Equal Economies

UNDP’s Aspire to Innovate (a2i) initiative

UNDP’s Aspire to Innovate (a2i) initiative in Bangladesh is providing training on digital literacy to thousands of female entrepreneurs. More than 200,000 female teachers now have access to high-quality online educational materials through our teacher’s portal. UNDP Kazakhstan held an “Alga!” bootcamp aimed at promoting digital inclusion and leadership among women in remote areas of Kazakhstan. Women role models in ICT and STEM pathways were held up as avatars to raise participants’ awareness of the skills needed for the future of work.

Gender Equal Economies

Gamified climate related VR learning

UNDP and UNICEF South Africa, in collaboration with Sci-Bono Discovery Centre and Sisanda Tech, launch gamified climate related VR learning through a virtual reality experience to educate young people on how to protect forest life and keep water safe, as well as being exposed to the impact of fossil fuels and the importance of sustainable food systems.

Gender Equal Economies

The intersection of AI with human rights

In India, research was commissioned by UNDP and the EU and conducted by Aapti Institute to understand the intersection of AI with human rights, including gender equality and the rights of women. The report found that women and economically disadvantaged communities experience ill effects as biases replicate in AI systems, exacerbating human rights risks.

Gender Equal Economies

UNDP’s and UNCDF’s rural e-Commerce project

UNDP’s and UNCDF’s rural e-Commerce project in Malaysia, in Moyog and Pagalungan, has demonstrated the feasibility of rural e-commerce with alternative value chains, serving as an alternative to the informal economy for women. Focus group discussion and gender analysis was conducted in the project to better understanding what women want and what they can contribute. From a humble homegrown e-commerce store launched on December 2020, Koondos! has scaled to include renewable energy interventions in supply chain, supported by partners such as Malaysia Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), TONIBUNG and Japan Innovation Network. Collaborating with Moyog Innovation House (MIH) the project has successfully trained 300 women entrepreneurs and producers on product innovation, entrepreneurship, digital business and sustainable enterprise models/These women have often ventured into entrepreneurial endeavours to supplement household incomes. From an average revenue of USD137 per month, now women earn USD989 per month.

Gender Equal Economies

Electronic voucher to disperse conditional cash transfers

UNDP Honduras supported the government in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in the deployment of an electronic voucher to disperse conditional cash transfers to buy exclusively food, medicines and biosafety equipment. UNDP created the methodology for the selection of beneficiaries with Oxford University, verified the beneficiaries lists in order to process the cash transfers, hired third party providers to disperse the cash transfers to final beneficiaries, ensured the use of a gendered approach, and engaged civil society, the church and other international actors in oversight.

Gender Equal Economies

The Pacific Digital Economy Programme

The Pacific Digital Economy Programme is a joint programme between UNCDF, UNDP and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with key stakeholders from public and private sector. Itaims to support the development of inclusive digital economies in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. This programme targets rural communities, women, labour mobility workers, and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises to enhance market participation. The programme launched a regional ‘E-Commerce’ Request for Applications (RFA) in Vanuatu to support the development or expansion of digital payment solutions for micro and small enterprises.

Gender Equal Economies

Mobile money network

In the Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific Digital Economy Programme, a partnership with Our Telekom is supporting the deployment of a mobile money network.

Gender Equal Economies

Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture (DiCRA)

UNDP in partnership with India’s State Government of Telanganad developed Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture (DiCRA) as the latest addition to the Digital Public Goods Registry. Powered by Artificial Intelligence, the platform is geared towards strengthening food systems and food security. Within a three-month period, DiCRA gained more than 500 citizens and scientists from local digital ecosystems as users, supporting climate action over 112,077 square km.

Gender Equal Economies

The Other Bar

UNDP Ecuador developed The Other Bar — the world’s first blockchain authenticated shared value chocolate bar, which went on sale in the United Kingdom in 2019. After buying the bar customers had the choice of scanning a blockchain-powered token which could be used to buy a tree, or to receive a discount on their next purchase. UNDP selected APEOSAE as its local partner, they represent more than 165 organic cacao farmers in the Amazon, who were keen to develop a traceability platform.

Gender Equal Economies

UNDP helps informal vendors, the majority women, to sell their fresh produce online

In Uganda, UNDP helps informal vendors, the majority women, to sell their fresh produce online in partnership with Jumia’s e-commerce platform. More than 4,000 market vendors have now been registered on the platform in 10 markets, with more than 60% of these being women, youth and people with disabilities. This new market segment is now selling more than 300,000 unique products each month.

Gender Equal Economies

Anondomela - a free-of-cost alternative e-marketplace

In Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic UNDP developed Anondomela (www.anondomela.shop) a free-of-cost alternative e-marketplace. Anondomela was supported by ekShop under the A2 I Project. This online marketplace has allowed access to new markets to small entrepreneurs, 80 percent of them being women and also to third gender entrepreneurs, who also receive specialized training on e-commerce and financial literacy and access to smart phones. Watch this video on how the Anondomela platform is enabling women and third gender entrepreneurs for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.

Gender Equal Economies

The Digital in Motion Programme

The Digital in Motion Programme has supported more than 20,000 women-owned MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an acceleration methodology to support business recovery and adoption of digital technologies.

Gender Equal Economies

Mildet

In Kyrgyzstan UNDP helped develop Mildet, a chatbot that provides online legal advice to citizens. In 2021 the family law function was added with the support of the UN-EU Spotlight Initiative, aiming to protect the rights of women. The Telegram bot supports women with issues such as dissolution of marriage, division of property, determination of paternity and alimony claims.

Gender Equal Economies

Bringing the Informal to the Formal through Technology Project

In Ghana, UNDP partnered with the Vodafone Foundation for the development of the ‘Bringing the Informal to the Formal through Technology Project’, empowering 1,500 women working in the informal sector with digital and financial skills. Participating women had access to mobile internet and bank accounts linked to mobile wallets, while village savings and loans schemes were also digitized.

Gender Equal Economies

Low-cost solar microgrid solution

In Yemen, UNDP designed and developed a unique, low-cost solar microgrid solution that provides an alternative, clean and renewable energy source that allows rural homes undisrupted electricity for 10 to 12 hours. Together with partners, UNDP trains vulnerable women and youth on how to establish, manage, maintain and promote their solar micro-grid businesses. Simultaneously, women and youth are trained as solar technicians also helps to change the community's perception of their roles in society. Watch this video to learn more about the interlinkages of energy, digital transformation and women’s economic empowerment.

Gender Equal Economies

Women Innovators Programme

The Women Innovators Programme, developed in partnership with 4YFN-GSMA, in the Arab Region has reached 52 women founders of digital start-ups from 15 countries with +500 hours of mentorship provided by close to 80 industry experts, investors and tech-leaders. Watch this video to learn more about this programme.

Gender Equal Economies

Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme

In Papua New Guinea, UNDP together with Centre for Arts and Innovation, Tool Box and Credit Union Foundation Australia (CUFA), is implementing the ‘Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme’. The Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme will equip women-owned and women-led MSMEs with the skills and knowledge necessary to take advantage of opportunities, strengthen and refine their business models, ideas, and execution. The project has so far trained over 2,500 women entrepreneurs in financial literacy and business development skills and further 1,200 in digital literacy.

Gender Equal Economies

the U&AI programme

In China, the U&AI programme promotes the development of AI based innovations by young people to tackle development problems and promote the achievement of the SDGs, with a particular track on gender equality. More than 2,500 people participated from 35 countries in the latest edition, of which 62% were women. Over the course of 5 months, these participants gained new knowledge and insights from 33 masterclasses delivered by renowned professionals from AI-related fields, and engaged in consistent online discussion to develop and fine-tune their projects.

Gender Equal Economies

Boost’ Women Innovators Programme

UNDP’s Boost’ Women Innovators Programme in Europe and Central Asia, supported by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and Koç Holding, provides support to innovative solutions that tackle key challenges faced by women and girls – from mobile apps for improved access to sexual and reproductive health and combatting violence against women and girls, to tailored STEM education.  

Gender Equal Economies

Evaluating Egypt’s prospects for meeting the SDGs

Using International Futures (IFs) – an integrated digital assessment tool for long-term forecasting and scenario analysis – and as part of the Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) approach, UNDP worked in partnership with OECD, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women to evaluate Egypt’s prospects for meeting the SDGs. Three scenarios showed specific potential to accelerate SDG progress, with women’s economic empowerment emerging as particularly important. By 2030, this approach should lead to 3.8 million fewer people in poverty than would be otherwise expected along Egypt’s current trajectory.

Gender Equal Economies

National e-commerce strategy (NES) 2022-2027

In the Solomon Islands, as part of the UN Joint Pacific Digital Economy Programme, the Government, adopted its first national e-commerce strategy (NES) 2022-2027, with the support of UNDP, UNCDF and UNCTAD and from the Government of Australia. The NES aims to support job creation, trade, and economic growth. The NES provides a vision and roadmap for the development of e-commerce and was developed based on consultations with Government, private sector, civil society stakeholders and development partners.

Gender Equal Economies

UNDP’s Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV) programme

The UNDP’s Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV) programme uses a competitive process to identify enterprises from developing countries that have developed at-scale products and services that contribute to the SDGs while achieving commercial success. Selected finalists receive capacity building and trainings to improve their impact management and to enhance their investment readiness. In addition, they are connected with investment networks. In 2021, the Gender Lens Initiative for Switzerland (GLIS) - a working group set up by SFG with the Alpha Mundi Group Ltd and Smart – partnered UNDP to award the GLIS Prize. More than 100 companies were nominated and the winner – Powerstove – was selected for its outstanding contribution to the achievement of SDG5 (Gender Equality).

Gender Equal Economies

BOOST Women Innovators Programme

The BOOST Women Innovators Programme in Europe and Central Asia leverages the power of innovation and technology to advance gender equality in the region. A total of 288 start-ups, SMEs, social enterprises, non-profits and academic institutions applied and 55 were selected to participate. During an intensive 12-week online acceleration programme, participants gained access to world-class training and mentorship to develop, reimagine and scale their innovations. The programme consisted of two tracks: Track 1 targeted Europe and Central Asia women-led startups, SMEs, social enterprises, non-profits, and academic institutions with innovations in four key thematic areas: women in data, women and digital access and use, women in the digital economy and STEM, and women driving tech innovation; while Track 2 focused on women innovators in Türkiye. Eight participants were awarded US$10,000 in equity-free capital.

Gender Equal Economies

Arab Women Innovators Programme

The Arab Women Innovators Programme, developed in partnership with 4YFN-GSMA, supports female tech entrepreneurs in the Arab region, who use digital technologies to advance the SDGs. This programme addresses the lack of business-relevant mentorship opportunities and the limited social networks for business for women. Women founders have access to a network of mentors who dedicate around 10 mentoring hours virtually to take supported businesses to the next level.

Gender Equal Economies

IT Girls Bizventure

In Bosnia & Herzegovina, as part of the IT Girls Project UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and Sweden developed an entrepreneurship simulation game called ‘IT Girls Bizventure’. The game allows girls to create a start-up, gain new business skills and challenge gender stereotypes in a virtual environment.

Gender Equal Economies

Live Without Illusions

In Ukraine, with the support of UNDP, two women experts developed an interactive game for Ukrainian youth called ‘Live Without Illusions’ that raises awareness of gender-based, domestic, and other types of violence.

Gender Equal Economies

UNDP Gender Social Media Monitoring Tool

Leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence, UNDP piloted social media monitoring tools to track hate speech in Colombia, Libya, Kenya, the Philippines, Uganda, Uruguay, and Sri Lanka, which have served to develop prevention and response programs around online gender-based violence and conflict prevention. These experiences are building up evidence to support an AI-based Early Warning System to monitor backlashes to gender equality. The UNDP Gender Social Media Monitoring Tool, already being piloted in Colombia, The Philippines and Uganda, tracks hate speech as well as conversations across categories relevant to gender policymaking and programming: education, employment, politics, reproduction and violence - based on UNDP’s Gender Social Norms Index.

Gender Equal Economies

e-monitor+

UNDP developed e-monitor+, in the Arab States, an AI-powered technology that carries out big data analysis to identify misinformation, hate speech and violence against women.

Gender Equal Economies

Villages of Tomorrow project

In Turkey, UNDP and Trendyol - a leading e-commerce platform - joined forces through the “Villages of Tomorrow” project to establish digital centres in targeted villages to make digital technologies accessible for all. The centres will take an inclusive approach, seeking to engage youth, women and persons with disabilities. One focus will be applying technology to improve production culture. Local producers will receive training in areas such as e-commerce, e-export, product development, marketing, branding, packaging, finance and quality control. Village products with a distinctive Anatolian branding will find a direct path to end consumers.

Gender Equal Economies

Need more solutions?

Try the Digital X Solutions Catalogue for more.

Contact the Digital Fitness Programme Team.

Gender Equal Economies

Introduction

Key messages