Activists have stressed the importance of digital technologies and solutions as enablers for making more progress towards gender equality in Rwanda and beyond.

They made the remarks during the "Gender Café,” a virtual event organised by the UN Women Rwanda Office last week to reach and mobilize young people in support of gender equality and digital inclusion, raise awareness on the issues of the digital gender divide, particularly in this new COVID-19 era and increased digitalization, as well as in ensuring equal opportunities in acquiring and developing skills suited to the digital economy.

The event brought together experts in ICT especially young people and women activists together to discuss on the issues of digitization, challenges and opportunities and showcase innovations that contribute to closing the gender digital divide.

Among the panelists on the day was Lucy Nshuti Mbabazi, the Head of Africa Advocacy and Partnerships for the UN’s Better than Cash Alliance.

She pointed out the significance of technology in changing norms to ensure better families and communities.

 "The beauty of technology is that it can allow cultural norms to evolve in such a way that our men and boys can understand that a more equal household in terms of access to tools and services makes the family and community successful,” she said.

"My hope is that fathers will see the importance of having their daughters and sons gain equal access to tools that allow them to learn, grow and thrive,” she added.

It is estimated that approximately half of the world population (3.6 billion people) is remaining offline, and most of the people are in the least developed countries. Additionally, a substantial divide persists between women and men in access, use and leadership in the digital economy and women are lagging behind.

Charlotte Bwiza, a female I.T personality working as a community lead for She-code Africa, a group that works to promote careers in technology for women spoke about the need for inspiring young girls towards I.T careers and studies, something that her company has embarked on.

"We (She-Codes) create events and programs that teach especially girls and women about different topics in information technology such as design, backend development, frontend development. So, this is a way to bring women together and show them that they are not alone in this, that there are other women who are as passionate and determined as the. They can see themselves in each other, and in that way they can get motivated,” she said.

Fatou Lo, the Representative of UN Women Rwanda appreciated the steps the country is taking in harnessing technology towards achieving gender equality.

"The government Rwanda and the private sector have invested massively in building the right infrastructure, skills, and institutional frameworks to provide an environment that is conducive to meeting this target, and while we recognize the great achievements made so far not only in Rwanda but across Africa and the world, we are also mindful of the remaining challenges, many of which are linked to access, affordability, connectivity, and technical skills to leverage the full potential of ICT and Innovation,” she said.