On International Women’s Day, World Pulse announced the launch of their new digital impact campaign, #SheTransformsTech. In partnership with the Vodafone Americas Foundation, EQUALS, and a network of other sponsors from the philanthropy and technology worlds, this campaign crowdsources ways women can–and do–shape the future of tech.
“Our goal is to support organizations that are empowering women and girls on a global level,” says June Sugiyama, Director of Vodafone Americas Foundation, a charitable arm of one of the world’s leading telecoms and technology service providers. The Foundation fosters social change in global and local communities, with a focus on empowering women and girls. “This World Pulse initiative is a great example of how we can rally voices on this important issue.”
World Pulse is a global social network focused on elevating women’s voices to make a difference. This safe online space offers a place for women to speak for themselves and lift each other up. Today, more than 72,000 women from 190 countries share their stories, build campaigns, and impact their communities through conversations and movements started on World Pulse.
Over March and April 2020, women around the world can share their stories of technology transformations with the hashtag #SheTransformsTech. Participants are encouraged to share directly on the World Pulse platform, as well as on other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Selected participants will become Featured Storytellers, honored through World Pulse and awarded $100-300 USD. If a participant is “leading a project or campaign that leverages tech for good,” she can apply to be a Featured Changemaker, earning her story and campaign international visibility and support through the World Pulse platform.
Women can also take World Pulse’s 10-minute survey, which compiles women’s experiences with and recommendations about technology. When the #SheTransformsTech campaign ends, survey results and online responses will be compiled and shared with tech companies, global policymakers, and the United Nations as part of the Beijing+25 #GenerationEquality campaign.
“Women and girls need to have a seat at the global technology agenda table to combat the discrimination and gender bias that may exist within technology today,” adds Sugiyama. “By using the power of women’s voices, #SheTransformsTech will put this conversation directly in front of leaders and organizations influential in the next era of technology.”
Supporting the campaign are the Vodafone Americas Foundation and the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, along with a network of other sponsors that work within the philanthropy and global technology spheres.
The campaign is designed in response to the gender gap we see in technology today. Despite our global society’s increasing reliance on technology, 200 million less women than men have access to the Internet. According to Equals, women are 25% less likely than men to develop digital skills, and only 6% of app developers are women.
“With #SheTransformsTech, we can speed up women’s global progress and kickstart a surge of women’s collective power activated through technology and grassroots advocacy in communities across the world,” says Jensine Larsen, Founder and CEO of World Pulse. “In 10 years, we will look back at the 2020s as the turning point to gender equality. It’s time for women-led initiatives to rise and present an alternative path to the big tech empires and to transform the technology industry for gender equity.”
Besides Vodafone Americas Foundation and Equals, #SheTransformsTech’s main sponsors, World Pulse’s partners in this campaign include the Collective Impact Partnership (which includes the Global Fund for Women, the Global Women’s Leadership Network, the Public Health Institute, and Rise Up), the World Wide Web Foundation, Take Back the Tech, the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Equinix.
This collaboration between tech giants and philanthropic organizations represents an exciting model we’re beginning to see more often in campaigns for social change. When corporate and nonprofit organizations work together to fund and amplify campaigns, we can reach much further and encourage more voices to participate.
Do you have a transformative technology experience to share? Head over to the #SheTransformsTech page on World Pulse to share your story, take the survey, and contribute to a fantastic cause. The campaign runs until the end of April 2020, so be sure to spread the word with the hashtag #SheTransformsTech!
***
ABOUT WORLD PULSE: World Pulse is a global social network where every woman’s voice can rise up to make a difference. It’s a safe online space where women are logging on, speaking for themselves, and lifting each other up. On World Pulse, 72,000 women from across 190 countries are impacting over 12 million more people in their communities as a result of their new and expanded movements, businesses and projects.
ABOUT VODAFONE AMERICAS FOUNDATION: Vodafone Americas Foundation™ is part of Vodafone’s global network of foundations. We are affiliated with Vodafone, one of the world’s leading telecoms and technology service providers, which operates in 24 countries with partner networks in over 40 more countries, and has significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States. The Vodafone Americas Foundation fosters social change in global and local communities through innovative solutions. Our mission is to connect an ecosystem of partners that use technology to empower women and girls. We believe that by investing in the combination of women and technology, we are investing in change and the ability to make a meaningful social impact globally as well as in the local communities where our Vodafone employees live and work.
ABOUT EQUALS: The EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age is a committed group of corporate leaders, governments, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, NGOs and community groups around the world dedicated to promoting gender balance in the technology sector by championing equality of access, skills development and career opportunities for women and men alike. Launched in 2016 by the International Telecommunication Union and four founding partners – GSMA, the International Trade Centre, the United Nations University and UN Women – EQUALS contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Agenda through actions and evidence-based research aimed at closing the global gender digital divide.
In The News
- Find Funds Now: 355 Funders for International Gender Equality
- Funder Database: 413 Funders for Gender Equality in the US
- The Ascend Fund Grants $600 K for Electing Women in States
- Money for Families: Big Philanthropy Supports Economic Recovery
- Join the Global Day of Action: RISE for Afghan Women!
- Apply Now! WAVE Grant Open for Five Up-And-Coming Filmmakers
- Announcing SHEcovery, A COVID Response Call to Action from CFW
- New Nonprofit Seeks To Find The Lost Women Of Science
- Michelob ULTRA $100M Pledge Shifts Marketing to be Gender-Inclusive
- Old Navy’s Size-Inclusive Shopping Model Sets a New Standard
