• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • United Church of Christ Board
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Synod 33 Worship Videos
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
        • Affiliated Ministries
          • The Pension Boards
          • Cornerstone Fund
          • Insurance Board
          • The Council for Health and Human Services Ministries
          • Church Building & Loan Fund
          • Convergence
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board
          • Board Minutes
        • Office of General Counsel
        • UCCOSSN
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • How We Serve
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • Welcome to Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Office of Public Policy & Advocacy in Washington D.C.
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
          • Health and Wholeness Advocacy
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • The Pilgrim Press & Stillspeaking Publications
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • The Faith Education, Innovation and Formation (Faith INFO)Team
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Synod 33 Worship Videos
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Stewardship & Generosity Resources
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search and Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Ministries
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • Resources
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
        • Encounters at the Well
        • Reflexiones
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
        • Webinars
      • Subscriptions at the United Church of Christ
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Giving Tuesday
        • Disaster Ministries: How to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • Strengthen the Church
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • Witness for Justice
  • Closing the Global Gender Digital Divide
Witness for Justice

Closing the Global Gender Digital Divide

by Rebekah Choate | published on Mar 23, 2023

The 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held in New York City between March 6 and 17, 2023. The agreed conclusions adopted by Member States constitute the first comprehensive global blueprint for the rights of women and girls when it comes to technology, innovation, and education in the digital age. This includes access to technology, education in STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), and safety and the protection of human rights in digital spaces.

Around the world, there are very few places that are looking at technology and innovation with a gender lens or even attempting to regulate or guide new technology in order to prevent gender, racial, or wealth gaps in access to or education in using these tools. These agreed conclusions will help to guide governments, private companies, and civil society in the creation of new initiatives and tools related to innovation and technology.

The global digital gender divide is pronounced, particularly when it comes to participation and leadership of women and girls and access to and use of technologies, connectivity, digital literacy, and education. We see this through increased violence against women in public life, both in the form of online harassment and physical violence. We see its negative effects on the mental health of young people, particularly girls, who face societal pressure to present their perfect image on social media sites like Instagram.

We saw the digital divide in education starkly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those with access to laptops or tablets and a high-speed internet connection were able to keep up with their schooling. However, those without access to the internet had to sit in cars in McDonalds or library parking lots for the free Wi-Fi. And if that wasn’t possible, they just dropped out of school. In some places, girls who dropped out of school because of shutdowns were married off so their families didn’t have to worry about not having enough money to take care of them. We have yet to see the data on the full impact of these pandemic restrictions on children and youth, but we do know there will be a disproportionate impact on girls.

The most amazing part of attending CSW either in person or online is the ability to listen to the stories of women from around the world. We are all facing similar challenges and issues, just with different contexts. For example, access to the internet in rural areas of the United States is just as difficult as access in rural areas in other countries. However, the stories of resilience are so inspiring and give me hope that we can create a just world for all. The UCC fielded a small virtual delegation of women to CSW 67 this year. Keep an eye out for the opportunity to participate in CSW 68 next year. CSW is usually held the first two full weeks of March.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebekah Choate is the Minister for Global Advocacy and Education, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.

View this and other columns on the UCC’s Witness for Justice page.
Donate to support Witness for Justice.
Click here to download the bulletin insert.

Categories: Column Witness for Justice

Sign Up For Our Newsletter








Privacy Policy






Related News

Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

The Road to Activism

I confess that throughout my life as an evolving queer organizer, I haven’t always been...

Read More
The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog

Successful Movements

Not that many years ago both churches and social movements dived into figuring out how to make...

Read More
Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Tug of War

Over the past month, our nation has been anxiously watching the “debt ceiling” tug of war...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
    • General Synod Resolutions
    • How can I find local churches near me? Click here!
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.

1300 E. 9th Street, Suite 1100
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2023. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative