Stakeholders from government, telecommunications industry, academia, civil society organisations, media and the general public on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 converged at the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra to deliberate on the way forward in closing the digital gender gap in Ghana.
The forum themed, Promoting and Protecting Women’s Rights Online – The Role of Stakeholders, followed a Report on Women’s Rights Online in Ghana developed by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and the Web Foundation. The Report highlights the performance of Ghana in bridging the digital gender gap with specific recommendations for various stakeholders.
Target eight of Sustainable Development Goal 5 calls for the “use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology [ICT], to promote the empowerment of women.” In spite of this global goal, Ghana scored 30 percent in the areas of internet access, digital skills, affordability, relevant content and online safety in the Report on Women’s Rights Online in Ghana.
The stakeholders’ forum, therefore, sought to address how the challenges identified in the areas of internet access, digital skills, affordability, relevant content and online safety can be overcome through the support and collaboration of government and other stakeholders.
The forum was addressed by the Deputy Minister of Communication, Mr Vincent Oddotei Sowah.
The Stakeholders’ Forum on Women’s Rights Online in Ghana was organised by the MFWA with funding support from the Web Foundation.