Leading a step towards more inclusive workforce, ECA (Economic Commission for Africa) partners with Tunisian ministries to train women in digital skills, fostering economic empowerment and reducing gender inequality
The ECA Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Section held a national workshop on the "Digital upskilling of women and girls in Tunisia" from 4-7 September in Tunis.
The four-day workshop was held in partnership with the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and Seniors and the Ministry of Communication Technologies of Tunisia. The goal is to increase the country’s capacity to run its own training programmes by training trainers in the field of digitalisation, building a critical mass of women and girls with relevant skills for future jobs, while preparing them to leverage the information economy and increasing digital demand.
The workshop focused on a range of topics including cybersecurity, digital marketing, online outreach, connecting women to regional and global markets and information streams, digital content creation, how to harness the information economy as well as utilising emerging tools including artificial intelligence and workflow automation.
A later phase of the project planned for 2024 will focus on ecommerce, digital finance, space science and remote sensing to boost women’s contribution into agriculture and climate resilience.
This project is part of ECA efforts, across Africa, to increase the low usage and participation of women in the digital space, despite high numbers of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “Our programme helps women to navigate identified security concerns that hinder their utilisation of technologies and introduces them to emerging tools that save their time and boost economic empowerment,” said Keiso Matashane-Marite, ECA chief of section for gender affairs ahead of the training.
African countries experienced an increased reliance on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), digitalisation and the use of online platforms to conduct business transactions, learning and development activities post COVID-19. This shift is currently providing an opportunity for women to step into new economic roles and contribute to a faster economic recovery and resilient growth.
The Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Section of the ECA Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division, aims to build a critical mass of women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Working with UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNESCWA, UNOOSA/UN-SPIDER and UNITAR-UNOSAT as well as the ECA African Centre for Statistics and its Technology and Natural Resources Division, the partnership aims to provide digital upskilling for women and girls in the use of digital content creation, digital marketing, e-commerce, digital finance, and space science.
