As a woman who has always worked in the community services sector, I’ve been in the majority. However, as a female leader in tech, even in tech for good, well that’s a different story.
It’s not new to talk about the lack of gender balance in tech. There are great organisations like Women in Tech and Women in Digital trying to support women in tech roles and improve the gender balance.
But, this isn’t just a tech sector issue.
In the work we do at Good Things to close the digital divide, ensuring everyone has access to affordable tech and the skills and confidence to use it, we know in the broader community that there is a digital gender divide.
Across the world, just 65% women are online compared to 70% men, with the gap being more pronounced in developing countries, something I heard about and saw first hand on my recent visit to India. And, right now, the widespread adoption of generative AI is exacerbating this divide. The rapidly changing tech landscape is impacting women and girls at significant rates.
The Australian Digital Inclusion Index shows that already, fewer Australian women are using generative AI (GenAI) than men.
Our own research shows that 1 in 3 Australian women are struggling to tell GenAI content from real, a higher rate than men. And, this difference is more significant for some women, with mums (39%), grandmothers (49%), women with disability (40%) and culturally and linguistically diverse women (35%), all saying they are unsure how to do this – higher rates than their male counterparts.
While AI is an important factor for Australia’s digital gender divide, so is online safety. Mums are more likely than dads to be worried about how their kids are using technology and if they are safe online. Women are also more likely than men to experience tech-facilitated abuse, including coercion, bullying and sexual harassment, and are worried about scams becoming harder to spot at higher rates than men.
GenAI is only exacerbating these impacts.
So, what can you do when half of the world is at greater risk of being left behind?
Supporting women to build the confidence and capability to navigate rapid technological change and stay safer online does more than close the digital divide, it creates a ripple effect across families, workplaces and communities. We have seen these benefits clearly in our successful and internationally recognised Digital Sisters program, a program whose funding is coming to an end in June this year.
Digital Sisters is a proven, community-led national program supporting migrant and refugee women in Australia to build essential digital skills, confidence and social connection in culturally safe settings. We know that free digital skills programs delivered by community organisations can make a real difference in the lives of women at risk of being left behind in the digital world.5,000 refugee and migrant women have benefitted from this support in over 50 communities across the country. Women in the program report significant increases in digital skills (87%), everyday independence (70%), social connection (70%), and AI knowledge (83%).
Women have also gone on to successfully apply for and access employment as a result of their participation.
Closing the digital gender divide doesn’t just support social inclusion, it makes economic sense. Globally, closing the digital gender divide would add $1.5 trillion into the global economy by 2030. In Australia alone, the economic impact of closing the digital divide for all is conservatively estimated to add nearly half a billion dollars to the economy every year.
At a time when the digital gender divide is being exacerbated, why would a government who talks about spreading the benefits of AI end one of the only national digital inclusion programs focussed on supporting women most in need?
Having recently had the chance to look internationally at the ways in which AI is being implemented in different countries, I truly believe that Australia has the opportunity to lead the world on AI for positive social impact. To ensure that everyone, including women, are not only using AI, but that women’s perspectives shape AI system research, development, implementation and governance.
Yet, we won’t spread the benefits unless there are opportunities for all to participate.
So, on this International Women’s Day, I call on the government and corporate Australia to truly get behind creating greater gender equity, both here in Australia and around the world.
As a leader of a female led organisation working every day to close the digital divide, I know that by listening to the community, working together and providing local safe spaces for people to learn, good things are possible.
The time to act is now.