GRADUATE WOMEN INTERNATIONALADVOCACY TOOLKITInternational
Girls in ICT Day
25 APRIL 2024

CONTENTS
What is ICT?...........................................................1
ICT in Education...................................................1ICTs, SDGs, and Peace........................................2
Barriers for ICTs...................................................3
Role of Girls in ICT Day.......................................3
Open Educational Resources............................4
Impact on Women and Girls..............................4Best Practices in Mobile Learning....................5
Bridging the Digital Divide.................................6
Gender Sensitive Programmes.........................6
Role of Civil Society.............................................7
GWI Advocacy Resources...................................7GWI’s Commitment.............................................8
Additional Resources..........................................92024 Event Map.................................................10DONATE HERE
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WHAT IS ICT?

Information
andCommunications
Technology (ICT) is an evolving term
referring to, and emphasizing, theimportance of unified communications andthe integration of telecommunications(such as telephone lines) and computer
networks in the concept of Information
Technology(IT),whichalreadyencompasses computer systems, software,programming languages and data andinformation processing and storage.

ICT IN EDUCATION
ICTs also play a crucial role ineducation. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) has madeintegrating ICT into education an
integral part of its efforts in ensuring
equity in, and access to, quality
education. In fact, ICTs offer a widearray of tools and resourcesenhancing learning outcomes andincreasing access to, and themanipulation of, information. They
facilitate personalized and tailoredlearning
experiences
astheycultivate critical thinking and digital
literacy skills allowing for further
efficiency and quality in education.
UNESCO posits ICTs as crucial todeliver quality learning experiences,increaseteacher’s
professional
development, and allow for more
efficient education management,
governance, and administration.

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ICT, SDGS, AND PEACE
ICTs leverage technological innovation to address pressing global challenges
and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
particularly towards quality education.
They facilitate the disseminationof knowledge and resources
essentialforsustainabledevelopment.
Through
digitalconnectivity,
ICTs
promoteinclusive growth and smart
resource management. They also
serve as a platform for global
connectivity and social cohesion,
providing the knowledge and skills
neededtofoster
peaceful
coexistence and peaceful conflict
resolution. Including ICTs indevelopment initiatives enhances a
culture of collaboration andinformation sharing necessary in
our conflict ridden society.

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BARRIERS FOR ICT
Global DisparitiesGender Gap

There are significant barriers toharnessing the full potential of ICTs for
all aspects of sustainable development.
Global disparities in infrastructure,affordability, and digital literacy
hinder equitable access to ICT tools andresources, exacerbating inequalities.
Comprehensive strategies must beimplemented by States to addresssocio-economic disparities, promote
investment in ICT infrastructure andliteracy, and provide targeted support
to marginalized communities. Womenand girls comprise an importantsegment of the population facing
disadvantages in regards to ICTs anddigital literacy.

Women are strongly under-represented
in, and nearly absent from, many
STEMfields,
suchassoftwaredevelopment, engineering, technology
research, etc. Additionally, women who
are present in these fields tend to leavethese jobs at higher rates than men(Source: ITU). In fact, they also often findthemselves in junior and supporting
roles rather than leadership positions,often
withlittlepossibility
foradvancement. This year’s Girls in ICTtheme is ‘Leadership’. It aims toaddress the representation of women inthese technological fields and expose
young girls to women in leadership
positions to break down genderstereotypes and biases.

ROLE OF
GIRLS IN ICT DAY

This day works to break down deeply engrained beliefs thatwomen are less apt in technological fields, and thestereotypes portraying ICT fields as male-dominated. These
prejudices discourage women and girls from pursuing suchcareers and need to be dismantled as early as possible(Source: ITU).
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OPEN EDUCATIONALRESOURCES (OER)

Education plays an intrinsic role in breaking down
stereotypicalgenderexpectationsandroles.
Introducing initiatives in education promoting digital
literacy and normalising the use of ICTs can create anenvironment where these fields become more accessible tothese historically underrepresented groups, such as womenand girls.

Moreover, ICTs provide novel educational opportunities
for women and girls. In fact, Open Educational Resources(OER) are publicly accessible, no-license, no-cost, teaching,learning, and research materials that are aimed at reducing
accessibility barriers to educational resources.

IMPACT OF OER ON
WOMEN AND GIRLS

These resources are vital forwomen who do not have themeans, especially financial, to takepart in traditional education.
Additionally, they accommodate
theuniqueneeds
andresponsibilities of women, suchas caregiving or household chores
as they provide much flexibility.

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ICTs allow for the creation,distribution, and utilizationof these OER on a global scale.
The existence of these OER
demonstrates the importanceof ensuring women and girls
everywhere are digitally literateand can take advantage ofthese resources .

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BEST PRACTICESIN MOBILE LEARNINGRwanda
In Rwanda, the Ministry of Education implemented theSMART Classroom initiative under its ICT inEducation Master Plan to reach all schools by 2020.
over 1/2 of all schools in Rwanda
are now equipped with ICT devices and manyteachers have undergone capacity-building initiatives
to make better use of ICT in teaching and learning.

United Kingdom
In the UK, over the last ten years, the Denbigh school has
developed an innovative whole school technology forlearning strategy incorporating mobile learning for bothstaff and pupils. This involves a variety of programs topromote inclusive use of ICTs.
‘Apps for Good’ is an example of course that has been delivered
for the past five years as an after-school club for grades 8 and 9.
This programme has successfully had anequal participation of girls and boys!

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BRIDGING THE
GENDER DIGITAL DIVIDE
Bridging the gender digital divide is crucial for ensuring equitable access to
educational opportunities and fostering inclusive development. By addressingthese disparities, we can empower women and girls to fully participate ineducational systems and benefit from digital learning resources. Closing
the gap promotes equal opportunities for girls to acquire ICT skills, pursue STEM
fields, and access online educational content.

GENDER-SENSITIVE PROGRAMMESEQUALS, an ITU initiative, has beenworking on a Gender Digital
Inclusion Map, which interactively
maps where initiatives regarding
the inclusion of women and girls inICT are being undertaken. This
project is a platform to collect anddisseminate information.

ELSA, which stands for Early
Learning STEM Australia, is aprogram
thatprovides
theopportunity for young children to
explore play-based environments richin STEM concepts, aiming to develop
children’s spatial reasoning skills andnumeracy development.

WOMEN’S NET is a networking
support programme designed toenable South African women to
use the internet to find the people,
issues, resources and tools needed
for women's social action. It aims
to teach women to use ICTs toadvocate for their rights.

CODIGO X, from the Mexican
National Digital Strategy, organises
free workshops and conferences forgirls and women on digital literacy,robotics and programming. Alongwith hackathons for high school
students showing the different
possibilities offered by technologicalcareers.

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6

ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Civil society organization advocating for
gender equality and education play apivotal role in fostering opportunities
for women and girls in the ICT industry.
As shown in the previous case studies,
these organizations are often behindthe capacity-building programmes andmentorship initiatives enhancing girls’
digital literacy and ICT skills.
Additionally, through advocacy and awareness campaigns civil society canraise visibility around the digital gender gap, challenging stereotypes and barriers
deterring girls from pursuing ICT education and careers.
GWI has always been committed to reducing the gender digital divide, redoublingin efforts over the last decade seeing as society’s rapid technologicaladvancements are not benefitting women and girls proportionally.

GWI ADVOCACYRESOURCES
Click here for ourNational Federationand Associations’(NFA) grassrootinitiatives.

2020 Girls inICT Day

2021 Women &Girls in Science

Infographic

Infographic

2024 Women &2022 Young
Member Network Girls in ScienceWebinar
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affiliate today
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Infographic© 2024 Graduate Women International

7

GWI’S COMMITMENT
Civil society can also leverage their influence on policy by facilitating
community and stakeholder engagement to strategize on promoting
girls’ involvement in ICT and further advocating for more inclusive andgender sensitive digital policies, especially in education.
GWI has done this by calling member states and other stakeholders toaction through policy resolutions dating back to 1959:
1962 - No. 10:
Girls & Careers

1959 - No.15: Women in
New Professions

1965 - No. 10/15: Women & Science
Teaching & Employment
1983 - No. 8:
Computer
Literacy

2004 - No. 1: Women in
Decision-Making inWorld Financial
Institutions

1980 - No. 16:
Science & MathEducation

1995 - No. 4: Career Development
2001 - No. 2:
The Future of
Women’s
Employment

2010 - No. 2: Numeracy and Women2019 - No.4:
Women & STEM

2022 - No.1: Funding for
Digital Learning
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8In the last decade, GWI has been calling upon society as a whole toaddress the gender divide through various accessible press releases
encouraging women and girls to participate in these fields more,
click on the boxes below to read these press releases:

UNESCO,CERN &ITU

32ndTriennial
GA

YouthSkills
Day

Women& Girls in
Science

Int’l
Women’sDay

Women& Girls inScience2013

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2016

2017

2017

2018

2019

Girls in
ICT Day

Girls in
ICT Day

LiteracyDay

Girls in
ICT Day

Girls in
ICT Day2021

Int’lDay ofEducation

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Everyyear,ITU
organises
awareness
campaigns, workshops,
and global celebrations
for this day. Click on
the image here for thisyear’s social media
toolkit. Click here for
theGirlsin
ICTwebsite.

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9Additionally, UNESCO is one of the main agencies working to promote ICTs ineducation, ensuring equitable access to quality education worldwide. UNESCO haspublished a variety of guidelines, master plans, and frameworks, to support
countries in integrating ICT in their educational curricula. Below some notable
examples.

2024 EVENT MAP

Click on this map to find events near you for this year’s Girls in ICT Day!
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Graduate Women International (GWI)
Empowering women and girls throughlifelong education since 1919

@gradwomen@Graduate Women International

GWI thanks intern, Sophia Schaaper, forher exceptional work on this toolkit.