DICT’s RIS training program helps bridge the gender digital divide

ABRIEF of a forthcoming 2018 report, Bridgingthe DigitalGenderDivide, prepared by the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD), highlights the challenges of women in overcoming their continuing exclusion from opportunities in the digital space.

— There appears to be systematic under-representation of women in ICT jobs, top management and academic careers especially in developing economies;

— Gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ( STEM) fields grows with age; a special program participated in by 25 women who are currently undergoing a month-long digital marketing and e-commerce course under the Department’s Rural Impact Sourcing (RIS) Technical Training Program. The special project is a collaboration among the local government of Taytay, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and JP Morgan.

The program aims to reduce unemployment by creating ICTenabled jobs in economically disadvantaged areas primarily in the countryside. Its mission seeks to empower local talents with ICT-based knowledge that will capacitate them to become digital entrepreneurs.

The training module covers web development, social media content creation, search engine optimization, and building a

- sential topics. Trainees undergo 10-day face-to-face sessions with practical exercises, followed by a 21-day immersion in SMEs where the trainees will create digital marketing strategies and collaterals for a small business. In the process, the RIS Program not only provides employable skills to women but also strengthens two of the major handicaps of small enterprises: marketing of their products and ability to promote them in the digital frontier just like their largerscale counterparts.

The Department of Labor and Employment projects that an estimated 2.5 million jobs will soon be available for home-based

initiative to develop digital skills in the rural areas.

The OECD Report further argues that once skilled in ICT, women are at par with men in some parts of the ICT value chain. It cites that

starting to emerge as evidenced by the observation that over the last two decades, the number of patents issued to the team of inventors with at least one woman member has increased more rapidly than the average of all patents. Likewise, those women who perform more ICT- intensive tasks in their job receive a 12 percent higher pay increase than men, perhaps opening a window of opportunity to narrow the wage gap.

Above all, any effort that contributes to the attainment of millennium goals should be given full support by all stakeholders. DICT’s special ICT training program for women may be a tiny step forward but it is right on target with the twin objectives of addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment and achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women.