Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 9 March, UNDP jointly with the Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the role of women in society, gender equality and family in connection with the International Women’s Day the open discussion on “Gender Digital Divide: solutions and opportunities to bridge the gap” was held in the conference hall of the "IT Park" in Tashkent.

The Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Digital Technologies, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education, the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Alleviation, the Committee on Family and Women, the Youth Affairs Agency, The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations, the National Women Leaders Platform, leaders of gender justice - volunteers, representatives of civil society and mass media have joined the event.

Each year, 8 March is celebrated to promote the women’s rights movement around the world – to bring attention to gender equality issues, reproductive rights, and violence against women.

Today we live in a world where technology is rapidly developing and becoming an important part of our daily life. However, globally 37% of women, which make up almost half of the world’s population, don’t have access to the Internet for various reasons. Consequently, if women do not have access to the Internet, they will not be able to develop the necessary digital skills.

The assessment of Gender Digital Divide in Uzbekistan that was carried out by the UNDP Uzbekistan in 2022 confirmed that the digital skills of women lag by about 24% compared to men. Women over 35 have 10% fewer ICT skills than women under 35. Women with advanced digital skills earn 36% more. Also, women with a college degree have 46% better digital skills than women without a college degree.

During the event parties reviewed the results of the study on determining the gender digital divide in Uzbekistan. Discussions revolved around ways to increase the role of women and girls in society, to achieve gender equality and measures to reduce the gap based on existing projects and programmes. The participants have shared suggestions and recommendations on how to deal with negative gender stereotypes on this topic.

At the end of the event, the participants have exchanged opinions on new approaches, ideas, and initiatives to achieve gender equality, as well as proposals and recommendations to reduce the gender digital gap in Uzbekistan.

This event was held within the framework of two joint projects of UNDP with the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Republic of Uzbekistan “Achieving Equality by Supporting the Implementation of the National Gender Strategy of Uzbekistan” and with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan “Empowering the Youth to Embrace the Digital Economy and Digital Entrepreneurship”.