The workshop was third in a series of five consultative workshops to gather multi-stakeholder experts’ recommendations for a strategy to reduce Pakistan’s digital gender divide.
The third consultative workshop for the development of a digital gender inclusion strategy was hosted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in collaboration with UNESCO Pakistan. The workshop took place in Quetta.
The workshop, held at the PTA’s Quetta Zonal Office, was the third in a series of five consultative workshops to gather multi-stakeholder experts’ recommendations for a strategy to reduce Pakistan’s digital gender divide.
Ms. Sadaf Khan, a UNESCO consultant, led the workshop. The workshop was attended by experts from various stakeholder groups, including government organisations such as the State Bank of Pakistan, PTV, and others. Participants included representatives from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), NIC Quetta, telecom operators, academia, women entrepreneurs, tech start-ups, and non-governmental organisations such as Mercy Corps, People’s Primary Health Care Initiative (PPHI), and Health Education and Environment Program Balochistan (HEEP), among others.
The Director of Wireless PTA and the head of PTA’s initiative for gender inclusion in ICTs informed the participants that PTA is committed to providing high-quality services to all Pakistanis, including women.
The PTA’s gender inclusion strategy is being developed with the assistance of UNESCO Pakistan. It aims to recommend specific policy changes and additions that will help achieve gender parity in the use of the internet, mobile phones, and digital skills in accordance with the International Telecommunication Union’s 2030 goals.
This strategy will assist the PTA, in collaboration with other public and private sector stakeholders, in addressing various barriers to women’s use of mobile and ICTs. The next workshop in the series is scheduled for December 22nd, 2022, in Karachi.
A gender equality strategy outlines an organization’s vision for combating gender inequality and holds the organisation accountable by establishing measurable goals for progress.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is the country’s telecommunications regulator, in charge of the establishment, operation, and maintenance of telecommunication systems as well as the provision of telecommunication services.