The passage of the Equality Act by the House of Representatives in October 2021 marked a significant step towards creating universal protection in federal law against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed deep-rooted issues within gender equality, it becomes evident that existing laws need to be updated. While progress has been made in empowering women to start businesses, work online, and take on senior roles, there is still a long way to go. The rapid advancement of digital technology presents opportunities for women, but it also creates a digital divide that must be addressed before it exacerbates the gender gap further. This blog post explores the barriers to gender equality in the digital world and emphasizes the importance of a societal mindset shift to drive meaningful change.
The current world where women can start up their businesses, work online, and take on senior roles is undoubtedly an improvement from the past. However, it is crucial to recognize that there is still a long journey ahead in achieving true gender equality. The rapid progress of digital technology brings a multitude of opportunities for women, but it also gives rise to a digital divide that must be addressed promptly to prevent it from widening the gender gap. In 2018, a report by the OECD revealed that 327 million fewer women than men had access to smartphones and the mobile internet. Another study conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation and the Alliance for Affordable Internet in October 2021 estimated that over the past decade, 32 low- and middle-income countries have incurred a loss of $1 trillion by failing to facilitate women's access to the online world.
Numerous barriers prevent girls and women from accessing the internet and participating in online communities. These barriers include the affordability of devices and services, outdated social frameworks such as unpaid maternity leave, educational inequalities, employment disparities, job segregation, lack of political representation, and inadequate legal protections, among others. The same report from the World Wide Web Foundation also highlights the exorbitant cost of gender inequality for the world, as emphasized by Boutheina Guermazi, the director of digital development for the World Bank.
While we are aware of the deteriorating impact of the gender gap on society and understand the barriers that perpetuate it, true change can only occur when the mindset of each individual evolves. The social mindset plays a crucial role in driving change, although it is intangible and difficult to analyze. The way society assigns value to men and women creates a complex web of gender-related issues. Gender inequalities have persisted for thousands of years, and now, in the midst of a digital revolution, we continue to grapple with this age-old problem.
The resistance to changing societal mindsets can be attributed to psychological factors. Ideally, people should be rational beings who adjust their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors based on new information and findings. However, research in psychology indicates that individuals often reduce cognitive dissonance by justifying their existing outlook, as it is easier and causes less mental stress. Megan Call, a licensed psychologist and Associate Director of the Resiliency Center at the University of Utah Health, emphasizes the power of knowledge in driving change. Individuals often move back and forth between stages as they work towards change, and the duration of this process varies for each person. One crucial step in closing the gender gap in the digital age is fostering a mindset that evolves alongside technology, culture, and other aspects of society. While education can accelerate this social mindset shift, it ultimately falls upon each individual to examine their own beliefs and ask themselves what they can do to reduce the gender gap. The 10,000-year-old issue of gender inequality no longer has a place in our world.
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