Havana-. Today, Cuba is participating in celebrations of the International Day of Girls in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with the aim of contributing to the development of digital skills among women.
According to an official statement from the Ministry of Communications, the Caribbean state is holding these activities to commemorate the date for the sixth time, also to help narrow the gender gap in the industry.
Under the motto “Access and Security”, there will again be an exchange with hundreds of girls, young people and women in this edition in order to promote the possibility of aligning their studies and their careers with the field of ICT and thus there is greater participation of women in companies in the industry, the text suggests.
She stressed that the Cuban government promotes the development of information and communication technologies in all areas of society, and the proof of this is the active participation of women and girls in all development programs of the informatization process of society.
This perspective, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
She explained that this goal is among its objectives: improving the use of instrument technology, especially information and communication technology, promoting women’s empowerment, reaffirmed in the “National Program for the Empowerment of Women”, approved March 8, 2021 .
Cuba has projections focused on increasing connectivity, developing ICT and reducing the digital divide, promoting the use of these technologies as a tool for knowledge development, the economy and the teaching-learning process.
In this sense, the country promotes equal access from vocational training to filling managerial positions in companies in the ICT sector, the statement emphasized.
International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative supported by the member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
It was in 2010 when the member countries of the ITU decided to create this event as a result of the huge digital gender gap that has become apparent over the years.
According to the World Economic Forum, only 6 percent of technology industry CEOs are women, and women hold only 19 percent of positions on the boards of all companies worldwide.
On the other hand, between 2006 and 2016, a study by LinkedIn, a social network geared towards business use, business and employment, only increased the role of women in the world of technology by 18 percent.