Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit 2022: Digital Inclusion for All

The digital divide is perpetuating inequalities that already divide countries and communities. COVID-19 has highlighted how critical digital connectivity is to governments, businesses, and society, and has brought a newfound sense of urgency to the digital inclusion agenda. While the crisis has enabled hundreds of millions to participate online, it has also exacerbated the digital divide. Of the estimated 37 per cent or 2.9 billion people currently unconnected, the majority are women and girls. Women’s access to ICT in is constrained by factors that go beyond issues of technological infrastructure: socially and culturally constructed gender roles shape and limit the capacity of women and men to participate on equal terms. The Panel discussed the following: To close these digital gaps, but also the gender digital divide, how do we use technology to create shared value and deliver much needed solutions?