MANILA – The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) is organizing a side event for the ongoing United Nations (UN) 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) to take a closer look at women empowerment through digitalization.
In a statement, the PCO said its “Going DigitALL: Women’s Empowerment through Digitalization” event would be held at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
The event, the PCO said, is organized to find out if e-governance helps create safe spaces for women and empower them to become agents of change.
It also seeks to know how gender perspective plays a significant role in e-governance initiatives and whether digitalization further promotes investments in programs and infrastructure that help strengthen women empowerment and gender equality.
Meanwhile, media participation will also be scrutinized to see if it creates and sustains a dialogue to help promote women’s involvement in digital transformation to bridge the gender gap.
“While the fullest potential of e-governance has yet to be realized, its impact, or lack thereof, on the various segments of society may already be observed,” the PCO said.
“Through a gender perspective, societies need to take a closer look at whether digital transformation in government systems and processes indeed contributes in reinforcing institutions to promote gender equality while making resources, both public and private, available for programs that uplift the lives and welfare of women and girls.”
The PCO-organized event is eyed to spark discussions on the existing legal framework on gender financing, its successes and challenges in the context of e-governance; global digitalization as a strategic approach to strengthening institutions and ensuring gender-responsive budgeting; and opportunities for improvement to accelerate poverty alleviation, especially through digital transformation.
It shall likewise provide a platform to identify opportunities for improvement and collaboration to accelerate poverty alleviation for the ultimate purpose of achieving gender equality and women empowerment.
Among the speakers are Chandy Eng, the executive director of Gender and Development for Cambodia; Department of the Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Ester Aldana; and Prof. Edna Imelda Fernandez-Legazpi, Director IV of the Office of Student Development and Services of the Commission on Higher Education.
Other speakers are UN Women Asia and the Pacific Regional Director Alia El-Yassir; MWFCD, Malaysia Deputy Secretary General Chua Choon Hwa; USAID Senior Advisor for Digital Inclusion and Gender Equality Gwen Snyder; and PCO Undersecretary Emerald Ridao.
The CSW, the UN’s largest annual gathering to address women’s issues and concerns, including discrimination and violence against women, and promote gender equality and female empowerment, began on March 11 and runs until March 22.
This year’s priority theme is “Accelerating the Achievement of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls by Addressing Poverty and Strengthening Institutions and Financing with a Gender Perspective.”
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman heads the Philippine delegation. (PNA)
