Islamabad (December 22, 2022): Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with UNESCO Pakistan,
hosted the fourth consultative workshop for the development of digital gender
inclusion strategy. The workshop was held in Karachi.
The workshop, organized at PTA’s Karachi Zonal
Office, is the last in the series of consultative workshops that have been held
to gather multi-stakeholder experts’ recommendations for a strategy to reduce
digital gender divide in Pakistan. The consultative process will continue for
another month through surveys and interviews.
Director
Wireless PTA and the head of PTA’s initiative for gender inclusion in ICTs, briefed
the participants that these workshops have been conducted to capture insights of
experts and local communities from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
The workshop was conducted by Ms. Sadaf Khan,
UNESCO consultant. Experts from various stakeholder groups attended the
workshop. Representatives from Global System for Mobile Communications
Association (GSMA), National Incubation Centre Karachi, Careem, telecom
operators, academia, banking sector, social enterprises, women entrepreneurs,
and non-governmental organizations such Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Aurat Foundation etc. also participated.
PTA’s gender inclusion strategy is being developed
with support from UNESCO Pakistan. It aims to recommend specific amendments and
additions in policies that can help achieve gender parity in use of internet,
mobile phones and digital skills in line with International Telecommunication
Union’s 2030 goals. This strategy will help PTA, along with other public and
private sector stakeholders, to tackle various barriers to women’s use of
mobile and ICTs and bridge the digital gender divide in Pakistan.
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