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\u00a9 Ed Pagria<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Globally, around 63 per cent of women have access to the internet today, compared to 69 per cent of men.<\/em><\/p>\n 13 March 2023 – <\/strong>During a dialogue with women civil society leaders in the UN General Assembly Hall on Monday, Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres heard about the critical need to make the internet safer for women and girls \u2013 and to ensure that they are equal participants in global conservations, both online and in-person.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The town hall with representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was held as part of the annual session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women (CSW<\/a>), which meets in New York every March.<\/p>\n Its latest two-week session – known as CSW67, which runs through Friday – is focused on the theme of innovation, technological change, and education in the digital age.<\/p>\n Civil society also used the town to appeal for more action on other issues critical to women and girls, such as greater representation at the UN, ending the war in Ukraine, and eliminating all forms of gender-based violence.<\/p>\n A male-dominated world\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In remarks prior to the dialogue, the Secretary-General spoke of the\u00a0backslide in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 rights globally<\/strong>\u00a0after years of incremental progress.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of the challenges we face today \u2013 from conflicts to climate chaos and the cost-of-living crisis \u2013 are the result of what is\u00a0a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture,<\/strong>\u00a0taking the key decisions that guide our world,\u201d he\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Newfound discrimination\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Guterres noted that digital technology \u2013 the product of an industry that is predominantly male – represents a new source of discrimination and bias.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than presenting facts and addressing bias, technology based on incomplete data and badly-designed algorithms is\u00a0digitizing and amplifying sexism<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 with deadly consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cMedical decisions based on data essentially from men can damage women\u2019s health.\u202f\u202fSafety features based on men\u2019s bodies can put women\u2019s lives at risk, namely in the car industry,\u201d he added, citing examples.<\/p>\n The gender digital divide is fast becoming\u00a0the new face of gender inequality,<\/strong>\u00a0he continued. \u00a0Online spaces are not safe for women and girls, as they have been attacked, targeted, or denigrated on the internet.<\/p>\n Furthermore, \u201cwhile 12 men have walked on the moon, not a single woman has done so,\u201d he said, pointing to\u00a0stereotypes<\/strong>\u00a0that \u201cpush girls away from studying science, engineering, and math, and strangle the careers of women scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres (right) speaks during a Town Hall meeting with Civil Society moderated by Sima Sami Bahous (left), Executive Director of UN-Women.<\/p>\n Keep pushing forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Guterres said the situation must change, and in the face of the \u201cpatriarchal pushback\u201d, the international community\u00a0must push forward for\u202fwomen, girls and the world<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cPolicymakers must create – and in some circumstances must reinforce to create – transformative change by\u00a0promoting women and girls\u2019 equal rights and opportunities to learn<\/strong>; by dismantling barriers and smashing glass ceilings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He also called for all leaders to urgently take up UN recommendations that promote education and training in digital skills for women and girls, as well as algorithms that align with human rights and gender equality, among other measures.<\/p>\n Punish cybercrime\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n At the outset of the dialogue \u2013 which was moderated by Sima Bahous, Executive Director of\u00a0UN Women<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the Secretary-General insisted that participants should not only ask him questions, but also offer comments, suggestions, and ideas.<\/p>\n He interacted with them in groups of three, first listening to their interventions as a whole and then responding to the individual issues they raised.<\/p>\n Houry Geudelekian, Chair of NGO CSW New York, was the first to speak. \u00a0She stressed that countries must find a way to\u00a0hold perpetrators accountable\u00a0<\/strong>for online violence targeting women and girls.<\/p>\n \u201cCybercrime should be punishable in the same way as any other crime,\u201d she said. \u201cMember States and the private sector have the power to reverse the regression in gender equality and uplift women and girls in all their diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking in her personal capacity, she also called for the international community to reduce military spending by five per cent and instead channel the funding towards sustainable development efforts.<\/p>\n Young women demand change\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Prabhleen Tuteja, Executive Director of YP, the Youth Foundation, asked the Secretary-General about\u00a0greater representation of young women at the UN<\/strong>, particularly to ensure \u201cfeminist, intersectional and inter-generational leadership\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Rania Harrara from Morocco reported that young leaders were \u201cpretty disappointed\u201d that the town hall was taking place at the same time as a dialogue for youth representatives.<\/p>\n She highlighted other concerns around access to UN facilities, adding that many young people from the Global South\u00a0could not take part<\/strong>\u00a0in the conversation due to barriers such as lack of funding and visa issues.<\/p>\n \u201cEquality and meaningful youth engagement is about digital access, digital literacy and digital safety for all adolescent girls in all of their diversity,\u201d she said. \u201cAdolescent girls are tired of being tokenized, and we require to be part of the policymaking.\u201d<\/p>\n UN \u2018rejuvenation\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Secretary-General said he was surprised to hear about these impediments as the instructions were to allow all attendees to enter the UN facilities.<\/p>\n Regarding visas, he explained that they are issued by the host country, not the UN. However, he asked for examples of specific situations so that the matter could be raised with the US authorities to avoid the situation being repeated in the future.<\/p>\n Addressing the wider issue of youth participation, Mr. Guterres noted that while the UN has a strategy on gender parity, it has yet to adopt one on \u201crejuvenation\u201d of the Organization.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to have a younger UN,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0he insisted. \u201cYoung generations are better prepared than myself to look into, for instance, the impacts of digital technologies in the way governance takes place globally.\u201d<\/p>\n The Secretary-General also agreed with Ms. Geudelekian\u2019s call for greater accountability for cyber attacks against women and girls, which he said is a matter that UN Member States\u00a0should seriously examine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A plea on Ukraine\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n One participant who said she represented Ukrainian women, gave emotional testimony about how the war has affected families in her homeland.<\/p>\n She reported that the independent delegation of Ukrainian women wrote to the Secretary-General last October requesting that he \u201cimmediately change the status of the United Nations\u201d.<\/p>\n She underlined support for developing a new global mechanism to protect all countries from aggression, which drew applause from the room.<\/p>\n Mr. Guterres recalled that the conflict has generated the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War, with\u00a0women and children\u00a0<\/strong>comprising the majority of those\u00a0 fleeing Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cWomen are indeed\u00a0suffering in a way that is totally disproportionate\u00a0<\/strong>in relation to this tragedy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Secretary-General upheld that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law and the\u00a0UN Charter<\/a>, \u201cand it has been very clearly expressed by u<\/a>s.\u201d<\/p>\n He also underlined the UN\u2019s ongoing humanitarian action and support, including efforts to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is set to expire in a matter of days.<\/p>\n