The Global Peace Development (GPD) has called on government at all levels to enhance the capacity and knowledge of women in rural and urban areas on information and communication technology (ICT) education.
This was contained in a statement signed by Ebruke Onajite Esike, the Executive Director, Global Peace Development to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day, made available to newsmen in Lafia, Wednesday.
He said doing so would develop a pathway for growth, resilience and sustainable income and development among the women.
“We believe that by empowering women and girls with technology, we are facilitating the unlocking of their full potential and closing the digital gender gap which has continued to widen economic and social inequalities in Nigeria.
“The 2023 International Women’s Day theme ‘DigitALL – Innovation and Technology for gender equality’ highlights the importance of utilizing technology and innovation to empower women and girls to achieve gender equality worldwide,” he explained.
The statement added that the current realities of the federal government’s cashless policy disempowered majority of the women because of their limited knowledge, capacity, and skills on ICT.
“Based on this, more women needed to be encouraged to pursue careers in the industry, creating female friendly work environments, providing more training opportunities, addressing cultural and societal barriers, promoting women’s entrepreneurship and enacting and implementing policies that foster women’s and girls’ interest and participation in ICT-related fields,” he said.
He said achieving the desired goal will require deliberate actions from various stakeholders including the government, private sectors, civil society organisations and well -meaning individuals.
