World Pulse—an independent, women-led global social network—recently joined with international business, civil society and government partners to announce the Her Digital Leadership Alliance. This Alliance is a commitment of the Generation Equality Forum, one of the world’s largest gatherings to secure ambitious commitments for gender equality, co-hosted by UN Women and the governments of Mexico and France.
The commitment responds to the urgency for equal digital access and use, especially during and following the pandemic era. Half of women and girls globally remain offline and cut off from the benefits of the internet. According to numerous international studies, even those women who are able to access the internet face a gendered digital skills divide. These women also often experience traumatic online harassment.
Why the leadership alliance is important
The Alliance is based on findings from the newly released report #SheTransformsTech. World Pulse produced the report alongside 27 women’s and digital rights partners. They crowdsourced recommendations, insights and solutions from 60 countries for a gender-equal technology future.
The Her Digital Leadership Alliance is a five-year commitment with business, government and civil society. Its goal is to build a global network of 20,000 grassroots women, girls and gender-expansive leaders in 50+ countries and equip them with digital leadership, advocacy and trainer skills. With these skills, these leaders will improve the lives of millions more in their communities; lead local efforts to bridge the gender digital divide; and deliver innovative methods to bring previously marginalized voices online to participate in the decisions that affect their lives.
Her Digital Leadership Alliance includes:
- Online digital training and online peer community hosted by World Pulse
- Career pathway for certified grassroots digital trainers
- Extensive global partnerships and recruitment
- Real-time member impact tracking of initiatives and movements via an online impact dashboard
- Crowdsourcing and amplifying voices to international decision-makers
Inaugural Alliance partners include technology companies, such as Vodafone Americas Foundation, Equinix, with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), programmatic collaboration with the EQUALS Global Partnership to Bridge the Gender Divide and a wide network of international and community-based organizations.
Equal access for all
Participants in Her Digital Leadership Alliance are calling for a fundamental transformation of technology access and use. They believe that this transformation should be led by those most historically excluded. World Pulse Founder and CEO Jensine Larsen says, “Through this commitment, we will activate and strengthen the vast leadership potential of women and gender-expansive individuals coming online globally to close the gender digital divide and build a more inclusive technology future for us all.”
The Alliance will give a platform to community leaders globally. Veronica Ngum Ndi, a Cameroonian disability activist states, “Technology has transformed me into a role model. I train women, girls and communities on the importance of digital empowerment. I hope that by helping women and girls, especially those with disabilities, fully take advantage of digital tools, they will also be empowered to bring about a new world powered by women.”
The Her Digital Leadership Alliance is growing and welcomes more programmatic and funding partners. Interested individuals can reach out to partner@worldpulse.com to receive more information.
About World Pulse
World Pulse is an independent, women-led social network that brings a decade of experience providing supportive global online community, digital storytelling and change-making training to tens of thousands of women, girls and gender-expansive individuals and their organizations across 190 countries, today impacting 17.6 million with their expanded movements, business and social change efforts.
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