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ITU, UN Women to Recognize Work in Tech for Gender Equality
ITU and UN Women are partnering to launch a new global technology award that recognizes outstanding contributions from women and men in leveraging the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote gender equality.
The annual GEM-TECH Awards will be conferred on seven winners from government, the private sector, academia and civil society at ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference, which will be held in Busan, Korea from October 20- November 7.
Winners will travel to Busan to accept their award and join a global celebration on October 21 promoting the power of ICTs to transform lives.
Online nominations are open until 11:59 CET on 5 September, 2014 at www.itu.int/gem-tech-awards, with winners to be notified by October 5.
ITU encourages men and women working in the ICT sector to nominate their colleagues – or themselves – with the final seven winners to be selected by a committee of experts from ITU and UN Women.
The awards will be presented by Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU secretary-general and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women executive director as part of a day-long programme of activities around gender issues.
The initiative comes in the wake of the disclosure of ‘diversity’ figures by major tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Linked In, which reveal that, across the board, the number of women in tech jobs is well under 20%, with the percentage of women in leadership roles not much better – reflecting a global lack of women coming into the ICT field.
“ICTs are the most powerful tool we have ever had to make a difference to the lives of today’s and tomorrow’s women, and to build a more equitable world for all,” said Touré.
“This new award will provide much deserved global recognition for some of the many outstanding gender champions – both female and male – who are driving exciting, innovative and effective ICT and gender initiatives.”
The 2015 GEM-TECH awards have been launched in the context of commemorations for the 20-year anniversary of the UN Beijing Platform for Action, which emphasized the importance of ICTs for women’s empowerment and the achievement of gender equality.
The awards are one of the first results of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ITU and UN Women that provides for increased cooperation between the two UN agencies in areas including improving women’s access to, and engagement with, ICTs; enhancing women’s involvement in ICT policy-making; and promoting the power of ICTs in future UN priority action areas, including the post-2015 framework for sustainable development.
“ICTs can and should be a game-changer for girls and women around the world, providing them with avenues for empowerment and for exercising their rights,” said Mlambo-Ngcuka.
“We must be deliberate in making this happen and these awards celebrate those that are leading this charge.”
ITU is already active in the field of gender and technology, particularly through its global ‘Girls in ICT Day’ event, which takes place annually on the fourth Thursday in April, raising awareness of the advantages and opportunities offered by tech careers to a new generation of girls and young women. Prominent actor and advocate Geena Davis serves as ITU Special Envoy on Women and Girls in ICT.
ITU estimates a global skills shortfall of over two million ICT jobs in the coming ten years. With digital technologies now pervading every business sector, girls and young women who learn coding, apps development and computer science will have a significant advantage over their non-tech-trained peers, regardless of the field they eventually choose to work in.
“Empowering girls and young women to fulfil their potential through ICTs will benefit not only young women and girls themselves, but entire societies and their economies,” said ITU’s Dr Touré.
UN Women, the lead UN agency on gender equality and women’s empowerment is pursuing ICTs as a critical cross-cutting issue across all areas of its work.
In the tech field, results can already be seen in combatting violence against women through mobile apps that map unsafe spaces; providing improved access to employment, markets and financing through digital literacy and ICT skills development, information systems and online banking; promoting knowledge and training opportunities through the Knowledge Gateway on Women’s Economic Empowerment; and increasing women’s political participation and advocacy for through social media mobilization.
Federal Executive Council has approved a group life insurance scheme for federal government officials, civil servants, and some other workers at the federal level.
The approval was given at the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said the scheme covers key government officials, comprising the President, the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, ministers, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, permanent secretaries and employees of federal government ministries and treasury funded agencies.
The scheme also covers paramilitary agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Federal Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“The scheme underscores the importance that President Bola Tinubu’s Administration has placed welfare of staff, specifically the welfare of the federal public servant.
“The Group Life Insurance Scheme is a scheme whereby the Federal Government has taken out a life policy on each public servant. And this means that if the unfortunate incident of death occurs, the deceased public servants’ next of kin stands to have a benefit to help the family cushion the family at that time of loss,” Walson-Jack said.
The scheme is an annual one, and today’s approval was for the 2025/2026 policy year, which would commence from the date of payment of premium to underwriters in line with the no-premium, no cover policy.
However, she said the insurance scheme would expire at the end of 2026.
“The approval for today was for the appointment of 17 insurance underwriters for the group life insurance cover and the year 2025/2026. The premium is paid to the insurance companies for a duration of 12 months.
“So, this policy will expire next year. I just like to say that in as much as this policy has existed throughout this administration and even previous administrations, we find that not too many people know about the policy, and so we have, from my office, even planned to carry out a sensitisation, which will be coming up very soon,” she added.
Federal executive council (FEC) has approved the creation of MediPool, a group purchasing organisation aimed at reducing the cost of essential medicines and healthcare products across Nigeria. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said MediPool would operate as a public-private partnership, leveraging the government’s purchasing power to negotiate better prices from suppliers.
Muhammad Ali Pate
“So it’s using the monopsony power of government as a large buyer of those commodities to negotiate lower prices and then channel those commodities,” Pate said.
According to him, the scope of MediPool includes “procurement planning, distribution monitoring, supply chain, logistics management, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, as well as ensuring that local manufacturers are supported.” He added that the initiative would also address “import substitution, financial management and payment systems, capacity building and training, and contingency planning to ensure steady availability of essential drugs through public-private partnership.”
Pate said the project had been vetted through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and benchmarked against other group purchasing organisations in Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. “We believe that this is a major intervention that will shape the domestic market, so that the demand for quality pharmaceuticals can be channelled in a way that lowers cost and also improves quality and stimulates local manufacturing,” he said.
He noted that the government had been exploring multiple strategies to lower pharmaceutical costs for more than a year. “Nigerians are hurting from rising costs,” he said. “It’s not limited to Nigeria. As you may be aware, even countries as far as the United States are placing executive orders to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals.”
Pate warned that global shifts could impact medicine availability in Nigeria. If pharmaceutical companies respond to U.S. price caps by limiting supply or increasing prices elsewhere, he said, this “could disrupt the availability or affordability of certain drugs in Nigeria, particularly branded or speciality medicines.”
Meanwhile, the FEC also approved a contract worth N2.3 billion for the procurement and installation of a cardiac catheterisation machine at the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto state. Pate said the advanced medical equipment would enhance the hospital’s ability to diagnose and treat complex heart conditions, including heart attacks and irregular heart rhythms.
British High Commission in Nigeria has reiterated the strong, long-standing relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria following the release of the UK Immigration White Paper earlier today.
A spokesperson for the High Commission stated that the UK remains a top destination for Nigerians seeking opportunities to work, study, visit, and settle, acknowledging the valuable contributions Nigerians make to the UK economy and society.
The White Paper outlines reforms to legal migration, aimed at restoring order, control, and fairness to the system while promoting economic growth.
The spokesperson assured that changes would be gradual, with further engagement between the UK and Nigerian government officials once implementation details are finalized.
“The UK has a proud tradition as an outward-looking nation, investing and trading abroad, and welcoming the creativity, ideas, and diversity of those who come to contribute here,” the spokesperson said.
The UK government has pledged to work closely with Nigerian authorities to ensure a smooth transition as the new immigration policies take effect
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