ESWATINI PUTS GENDER AT HEART OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

BY PHUMELELE GAMEDZE

MBABANE – Eswatini is stepping up efforts to ensure women and girls benefit equally from the country’s digital transformation, with Government, Smart Africa, The Gambia and development partners working to strengthen gender impact assessment in digital programmes.

The commitment was highlighted by Minister of Information, Communications and Technology Senator Savannah Maziya during a three day Gender Impact Assessment Workshop held at Hilton Garden Inn in Mbabane.

The workshop focuses on co-developing, contextualising and piloting Gender Impact Assessment Tools designed to measure who benefits from digital development programmes, who is left behind and what barriers need to be addressed.

Maziya, who also chairs the SDG 5 Council on Gender Equality, challenged stakeholders to move beyond treating gender equality as a policy statement and make it central to the design, implementation and measurement of digital programmes.

“Gender must therefore be considered from the beginning, not as an afterthought,” she said.

She noted that technology is increasingly shaping access to education, employment, financial services and Government services, raising questions about whether women and girls are benefiting equally.

Eswatini and The Gambia have been selected as pilot countries for the assessment tools. Maziya said Eswatini was the first Smart Africa member state to request support to pilot them.

“This gives us an opportunity not only to learn from Africa, but to contribute to Africa’s learning,” she said.

The initiative brings together representatives from Smart Africa, The Gambia, Government ministries and departments, development partners and members of the Technical Working Group.

The tools will help stakeholders assess digital interventions by asking key questions around access, inclusion, barriers and outcomes. The approach responds to concerns around limited gender disaggregated data and the need for stronger evaluation of programmes aimed at closing the digital gender divide.

Maziya highlighted existing initiatives supporting women in technology, including the STEM Future Pioneers Mentorship Programme and the She Powers Africa Digital Academy, through which 50 women from Government and Government linked institutions are receiving training in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science and software development.

She said the Gender Impact Assessment initiative would help ensure such programmes are not only creating opportunities but delivering equitable results.

“Let us use this workshop to listen, learn, challenge and co-create,” Maziya said.

The workshop places gender inclusion at the centre of Eswatini’s digital future, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that women and girls are not left behind as technology becomes increasingly important to national development.