‘Access to digital technologies must for women empowerment’

"Digitalisation is changing how we experience our world. Unfortunately, not every woman experiences this transformation. Globally, men are 21% more likely to be online than women, it rises to 52% in low-income countries," said Sharmeela Rassool, Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan, on Wednesday.

"This disparity has to change now. Ensuring women and girls have equal access to and use of digital technologies is central to their economic empowerment therefore imperative to develop and build empowered societies," Rassool said while speaking at event organized by the women-led not-for-profit tech startup CIRCLE, in collaboration with L'Oréal, to celebrate the Digital Literacy Program graduates in Karachi.

State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Sima Kamil was the guest of honour at the event which aimed to promote and encourage the exemplary women who were driven to change the course of their future by learning new skills under the Digital Literacy Program.

"I am truly inspired by the stories shared by the graduates of the Digital Literacy Program about their journey and the positive impact of the program towards their personal and financial empowerment," Sima said. "The State Bank of Pakistan is also proud to be working towards notable initiatives to ensure economic empowerment and financial inclusion of women in Pakistan."

The Digital Literacy Program was initially designed and piloted under the pandemic with the support of UN Women in 2021. As many as 1,680 women in 30 cities across Pakistan have been trained, while it targets to train 5,000 women all over Pakistan by the end of 2022.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2022.