A new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest and IDB Lab has found that 62 per cent of representatives of major institutions and entities in the digital ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean think the digital gender gap is a problem in their respective countries.
It said the same proportion believe that women have little participation in digital transformation processes because of a lack of skills and competencies.
According to the unpublished surveys and analysis of recent research in the study titled “The Gender Dimension in the Digital Transformation of Businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean,” governments in the region need to implement specific public policies to reduce the gender gap in digital business transformations.
The survey shows that women’s participation in digital transformation processes was less than 50 per cent at approximately half of the organisations surveyed. These organisations pointed to a lack of necessary digital skills and competencies as a primary reason for this lack of participation.
The study maps the main gender gaps in companies’ digitalisation processes and recommends that governments help solve this problem through public policies that increase women’s access to and use of digital technologies and reduce gaps related to women’s participation in digital jobs.
“We want digital transformation processes to be guided by strong public policies promoting greater gender inclusion. This will help our region accelerate its growth and promote equitable and fair development,” said Jessica Bedoya, chief of staff and chief strategy officer at the IDB.
“This study provides a roadmap for governments to incorporate gender equity into their digital agendas. It reinforces the commitment set forth in IDB Group Vision 2025 to promote gender equity and advance the region’s digital transformation.”
Currently, two-thirds of Latin American and Caribbean countries do not include gender as a cross-cutting pillar when designing efficient public policies for digital transformation of business.
When asked about the main barriers faced by female entrepreneurs in digital spaces, most respondents, estimated at 73.6 per cent, mentioned access to financing.
The survey also found the high burden of family responsibilities among women to be the most common reason why more women are not starting companies in the digital sphere. Moreover, a large majority of respondents, 80.2 per cent, believe women-owned digital businesses receive less investment than male-owned businesses.
Sourced from Jamaica Observer