Women have a decisive role to play in shaping the digital transformation and ensuring that it contributes to a better and fairer future, yet they remain significantly underrepresented in the digital field. The underlying causes are diverse, ranging from harmful stereotypes to educational barriers. Globally, women are 12.5 percent less likely to use the Internet compared to men, which results in a limited capacity to benefit from the opportunities created by the digital world.  

While the solutions to close the gender digital divide need to come from many fronts, the first step is to create awareness on the challenges that women face in the digital environment, and to give visibility to the female trailblazers who are overcoming such obstacles to lead the digital transformation on their own terms.In this spirit, the AU-EU Digital for Development (D4D) Hub launched the online communications campaign #GirlsinD4D.


Contributing to the celebration of International Girls in ICT Day on 28 April, the campaign’s goal is to put the spotlight on inspiring young women from Africa and Europe who are working tirelessly to leverage digital technologies and innovations to improve people’s lives in both continents.

The AU-EU D4D Hub received 195 nominations for this campaign – evidence of the many strong-willed and fearless women who are breaking barriers to achieve their dreams. The ten shortlisted nominees represent the diversity of experiences, skills, and circumstances that drive women to pursue careers in the digital field. By no means this selection means to undermine the other candidates’ outstanding merits.

The #GirlsinD4D are engineers, entrepreneurs, social scientists, and graphic designers. Most of them found their passion for technology at a very early age, and their own lives have been transformed by opportunities they found online. What they all share is a determination to help other women succeed in the digital field and to contribute to sustainable development through digital solutions. 

Meet the ten #GirlsinD4D here: https://bit.ly/3kmGeP0

About

The AU-EU D4D Hub supports African institutions to create an enabling environment for an inclusive digital transformation. The project provides demand-driven technical assistance, promotes knowledge sharing, and facilitates dialogues.  

The AU-EU D4D Hub is a Team Europe project, co-funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by Enabel, GIZ, MFA Estonia, e-GA, ITL, AFD, Expertise France, and LuxDev. It is part of the D4D Hub, an EU-led platform that creates and leverages partnerships to shape a sustainable digital future worldwide.

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