LinkedIn, UN Women to offer digital skills to women to make them employable
The Hindu
A 15-month pilot will be set up in Maharashtra
LinkedIn, the online professional network, said it would invest $500,000 (₹3.88 crore) in a three-year regional partnership with UN Women, a United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
The project would launch a pilot in Maharashtra to cultivate digital, soft and employability skills in 2,000 women and present them with a range of career-building opportunities through job fairs, mentoring sessions and peer-to-peer networks, said LinkedIn in a statement.
Addressing gender-responsive technology policymaking in the Asia-Pacific region was crucial given in Asia, 54.6% of men have access to the internet, compared to 41.3% of women. This represented a gender gap, as per the social media platform.
According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), between 2013 and 2017, the gender gap in Asia grew from 17% to 24%. Women and girls often do not have the same access to education, or type of education, as men and boys do, which sometimes leaves them with decreased digital skills, literacy, and consequentially fewer economic opportunities in an increasingly digital world. In fact, the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 has only widened this opportunity gap for women and girls in the past two years.
“As more businesses and professionals recognise the rewarding impact of gender-equal workplaces, we have the unique opportunity to help women become more employable and entrepreneurial in today’s digital era. By bringing women closer to the right skills and resources, we aspire to create a more equitable and all-inclusive talent landscape,” said Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn.
With this partnership, LinkedIn and UN Women would work together to close this gap, aiming to help the region and world achieve improved gender parity in the workforce, it said.
After the 15-month pilot in India, UN Women and LinkedIn would incorporate lessons learned and evaluative feedback to improve the programmes where necessary and then scale it up to other Asia-Pacific countries, LinkedIn added.