The EQUALS Global Partnership is pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2020 EQUALS in Tech Awards. The annual awards recognize initiatives that work to bring gender equality to the digital world. Individuals and organizations can nominate their own initiatives or those of others for an award in the following categories: Access: Initiatives related to improving women’s and girls’ digital technology access, connectivity and security Skills: Initiat

As children, we learn our history through the stories our family and friends tell us about our community and where we come from. We can take the same approach to teach machines about our heritage, our communities, our myths and legends. We understand the complex nature of the problem and therefore believe that deep collaboration, diversity, and transparency will lead to best outcomes. Take our digital storyteller Sina. She is a young conversational AI and at the moment a demo

The COVID-19 pandemic has caught the world by surprise. Beyond the grave health repercussions, this crisis has led to unprecedented measures taken by governments and organizations that have deeply impacted the way mobility and transactions are managed. According to the AFP news agency, more than 3.9 billion people, or half of the world's population, have now been asked or ordered to stay at home by their government. More than ever, technology is fundamental for adapting and m

Today is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. According to the UN, “There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, living across 90 countries. They make up less than 5 per cent of the world's population, but account for 15 per cent of the poorest. They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures”. EQUALS is committed to making sure that no one’s gender is a hindrance to

Today is the International Day of Cooperatives, hosted by the United Nations and the International Cooperatives Alliance (ICA). According the UN, Coops Day exists to “increase awareness of cooperatives” and to “underscore the contributions of the cooperative movement to resolving the major problems addressed by the United Nations and to strengthening and extending the partnerships between the international cooperative movement and other actors”. Cooperatives are businesses th

New York Women and girls are still lagging far behind their male peers in the digital realm, according to a new report launched today under the EQUALS Partnership. The report, Taking Stock: Data and Evidence on Gender Equality in Digital Access, Skills, and Leadership, highlights the implications of persistent gaps across different facets of digital technologies. It also presents a compilation of case studies written by more than 25 leading experts and researchers that tell t

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2019, the EQUALS Global Partnership celebrates the successes of those working toward achieving gender equality around the world. As a focused part of the gender equality movement, our 90 partners have united to strive towards a future where women and girls can enjoy full equality in the world of digital technology. Despite many efforts, the gender digital divide persists. It is a continuing global issue that keeps women and girls f

Second in our ongoing series showcasing past winners of the EQUALS in Tech Award is Khabrona.info, a Mercy Corps initiative that provides updated, critical information for Syrian refugees on their journey to safety. Our judges loved the way Khabrona.info helped women and their families get access to digital resources like legal guidance, birth and marriage records, and documents to rectify status for refugees. At the award ceremony in September 2018, we asked Khabrona.info pr

The annual EQUALS in Tech Awards recognize initiatives from around the world that help imagine a better digital future for women and girls. Every year we give awards recognizing work that helps girls and women get equal access, skills and opportunities online and in the tech industry. At the 2018 awards, we asked this year’s winners to tell us a bit about how the recognition that goes with winning the award might impact their work. Laboratoria's Marisol Alarcón answers questi

If the middle of the week normally gets you down, fear not! Starting this month, we’re celebrating five years of the EQUALS in Tech Awards by featuring all 27 of our past winners in a series we’re calling #WinnersWednesdays. It’s a dose of inspiration to liven up your week and introduce you to a community that is working tirelessly to close the gender digital divide. Since 2014, the EQUALS Global Partnership has recognized initiatives large and small from around the globe for

This list, created in support of EQUALS by members of its Leadership Coalition, highlights 25 actions that individual engineers can take to be more inclusive, as a complement to steps taken by employers. Business Leadership 1. Be sensitive to the impact of micro-inequities. Pay attention to language and assumptions in daily conversations that may inadvertently reinforce stereotypes. Listen for and correct personality penalties in casual conversation.[i] Interrupt "fixed mind

“The gender digital divide is both a consequence and cause of violations of women’s human rights.” - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Online abuse is a part of gender-based violence (GBV), where information and communications technologies (ICTs) are used for threats of physical and/or sexual violence, unwanted and harassing online communications, or even the encouragement of others to harm women. According to a recent report of the Special Rapporteur on v

In many countries around the world, boys are 1.5 times more likely to own a mobile phone than a girl. Even when girls have access to a phone, they are more likely to have to borrow a phone than a boy. This surprising data comes from Girl Effect and Vodafone Foundation’s recently published research on girls’ access to and use of mobile phones, which brings to life the voices and experiences of 3,000 adolescent girls and boys across 25 countries. The research shows that in most

"Ubuntu" is an ancient humanist African philosophy which was coined from the Zulu phrase "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu", which literally means that a person is a person through other people. It drives at the relatedness and “family-ness” that should exist between people and supports the idea of community as the building blocks of society. Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously described Ubuntu as "the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is

Growing partnership agrees to bold goals to close the gender gap in tech New York, 22 September 2018 — The EQUALS Global Partnership today committed to a broad set of strategic goals to bridge the digital gender divide, at its annual principals’ meeting at the Yale Club in New York City. The meeting brought together influential EQUALS partners representing leading private sector organizations, universities, United Nations organizations and government agencies—who work togethe

As a highly sought-after board member for internet and financial companies, founder and CEO of 1AU-Ventures, and Senior Advisor, Artificial Intelligence and Analytics at McKinsey, Dr. Anastassia Lauterbach focuses on strategies in growth and partnerships in businesses that seemed like science fiction in the not-too-distant past. Lauterbach, lead author of The Artificial Intelligence Imperative. A Practical Roadmap for Business, believes that “AI technology reflects its creato

The EQUALS Global Partnership has been recognized in a new G20 Ministerial Declaration focused on the global digital economy. The Declaration states: ​“Reaffirming our commitment to bridging the digital gender divide and building upon initiatives such as #eskills4girls and EQUALS, we emphasize that the integration of women in the digital economy supports stronger economic growth, inclusiveness and enhances well-being." The Ministerial Declaration also encourages G20 countries

It’s 2018, and still some people are surprised that not only do women scientists "exist," but also that they are good at what they do! We all know that many top-level scientists are women, but statistics tell us that we’re still far away from gender equality in science. Excellent female scientists have always existed, but they have often worked in the shadows: think of Rosalind Franklin, who with her experiments gave proof of the structure of DNA, but was not even mentioned i

UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson in speaking about gender equality and launching the HeForShe campaign at United Nations Headquarters in 2014 asked, "How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation? Men… I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too." When it comes to men's participation in gender equality, the "why" is clear, but the "h