A growing number of political leaders, policy-makers and business leaders around the world understand the urgency of women empowerment. That’s because the imperatives are stronger than ever – not just to enable women to build better lives but because the unrealised talents and ambitions of women present a vital source of economic growth, at a time when the global economy appears to be slowing. It’s instructive that the global conversation about inclusive growth is taking place at a time when, according to the World Bank, less than half of women worldwide are employed, compared to three-quarters of men.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) brought numerous changes in the way people communicate, do business, and have social interactions. In the ICT sector, emphasis is on intellectual rather than physical resources, thus this industry is non-discriminating. ICTs create equal employment opportunities for men and women, minorities and disabled people. New technologies have a vast potential for empowerment, for reducing poverty, improving governance, overcoming isolation and providing a voice. There is a growing evidence on the benefits of ICT for women’s lives, in particular in four different fields: education, health, politics and economy.

But the reality is not that simple, while ICTs are recognised as tools for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, a “gender divide” has been pointed out: a lower number of women uses ICTs compared to men. Some constraints affect both women and men, such as lack of infrastructures, connection costs, lack of computer and language skills. Additionally, there are also gender-based determinants which particularly disadvantage women.

To overcome this we are on a mission to help marketers better understand how to connect with women through effective, creative communications. IO Digital has equal number of male and female employees and we provide equal opportunity of growth to all of them. We promote diversity in our work environment and practice positive discrimination wherever required.

Women’s empowerment can be a crucial driver of macroeconomic growth and stability in the future and digitalisation is instrumental to achieve this goal.