IT Girls is a joint initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina between UNDP, UNICEF and UN Women which aims to provide girls and women with access to future-ready technology and digital skills. @UNICEF BiH
UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) and Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) work to enhance its development activities in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment through a diverse range of programming activities, knowledge products, advocacy campaigns and capacity development tools. In Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, the IRH and BRH Gender Equality Teams design advocacy campaigns and compile, analyze, and present information and messaging on gender equality issues in ways that can meaningfully inform policy design.
Although young women are doing just as well as young men in scientific disciplines at the tertiary level, fewer women than men tend to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degrees in university, particularly in engineering and ICT (information, communication, technology) departments. UNDP IRH and BRH support women in their pursuit of careers in STEM fields to reduce gender inequalities and to prepare them to benefit from the digital transformation of labour market.
UNICEF Europe and Central Asia reaches girls with skills and learning opportunities that empower them in the transition to adulthood and equip them for the 21st Century workforce. UNICEF works to promote girls’ leadership, voice and agency for their inclusion and participation across all sectors and contexts, and supports innovative and safe platforms, both offline and online, to build girls’ skills and capacities to lead and influence change.
Girls’ STEM and Digital Skills is becoming an increasingly important priority in UNICEF as a critical pathway to advance gender transformative results. By the end of 2021, programmes for girls’ STEM and digital skills are ongoing in more than 12 countries including Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. These programmes are envisioned to be strengthened and scaled in coming years by partnerships, investment and evidence.
