Women globally have been among the worst hit by the social and economic catastrophe caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. On almost all development indicators, whether it be economic opportunities, education, health or nutrition, the adverse impact of the pandemic has been disproportionately borne by women. The pandemic has also exacerbated the structural and systemic factors inhibiting women’s greater participation in economic and social processes. One of the most significant of these has been their relative lack of access to digital technology in a world that is being rapidly digitized. This is particularly challenging in India where only 14.9 % of women are reported to be using the internet.
This webinar seeks to bring together technology developers, feminist scholars, development practitioners and social scientists to explore the conditions under which the growing digitization of India can contribute to the greater empowerment of women.
About the speakers:
The speakers for the webinar were Usha Ramanthan, Independent Law Researcher; Govind Kelkar, Professor and executive Director, GenDev Centre for research and Innovation; Ambika Tandon, Senior Policy Officer, Centre for Internet and Society and Sadhana Sanjay, Research Assistant, IT for Change.
