Tech Advancements Proving Key to Gender Parity: ICGE-II

KOZHIKODE:
Technology has been playing a major role in society’s progress to gender parity but a continuing digital divide can delay the trend among rural populations and economically weaker classes, a global summit being organised by the Kerala government’s The Gender Park said today.

Gender sensitisation can be smoother if the world has more men preaching it as influential figures instead of women reiterating the essential point at public forums, speakers at second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE-II) noted.

Further, men taking up family responsibilities in measures equal to that of women can lead to improved performance of females in workplaces, according to an online session on ‘Leveraging Innovation and Maximizing Social Good’ at the February 11-13 conclave being organised by the state’s Department of Women and Child Development in partnership with UN Women, a body of the United Nations.

Innovation thought leader Irfan Malik, who chaired the 90-minute online discussion, the modern world required women to gain better access to technological solutions as much as the administrations and companies earning awareness about gender equality. From formulating policies to earning funds to handling finances, women merit greater role for the improvement of socio-economic indices, added Malik, who is Co-Founder and Director of inQ Innovation Global that functions in Australia and the UAE besides India.

Sydney-based activist Barbara Ward said Covid-19 has shown again how women workforce is a major casualty in the event of a worldwide tragedy. “It is the lowly-paid who end up becoming the most affected in times of big upsets. Women form a major presence here. Hence the result,” pointed out the Sydney-based speaker, who is founder-CEO of Impact One and Public Health Advocate.

Ambarish Mitra, who is the founder of Blippar that specialises in augmented reality, artificial intelligence and computer vision, highlighted how technology has infused traits of gender-neutrality in households. “I don’t mean some kind of software here, but routine devices such as washing machine, dishwasher or mixer-grinder. They have unburdened women with some of their traditional responsibilities as homemakers,” he pointed out.

All the same, high-end technological solutions continue to display patriarchal characteristics, Mitra noted, citing an example of an onscreen image of a man wearing a white coat attributing him as a doctor even as a woman wearing the same dress suggests her as a beautician. “It bewildered me. But soon I noticed that technology, too, is just an extension of a male-centric society we live in. This has to change,” he said.

Gender equality doesn’t mean the same for all communities across the globe, said Cynthia Castro, Co-Founder of Latin American company Boomerang Effect. “It was when I realised the toughness of convincing men the need to be gender-sensitive I launched my own firm,” said the social entrepreneur, whose work on sustainable development strategies has impacted over 45 communities in Costa Rica.

Hayley Saddington (Founder, Health-Tech) moderated the panel that also comprised Senegalese tech entrepreneur-VC investor Fatoumata BA and Rhea Singhal, who is Founder-CEO of Ecoware, India’s first and largest sustainable packaging company.

ICGE-II, taking place at The Gender Park’s campus in Kozhikode, features 17 sessions and 90 speakers in total.