UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office hosted the second edition of its Equality Café on Monday 6th March in Nairobi, Kenya to commemorate International Women’s Day 2023. Equality Café is a forum facilitated by UN Women for collaboration among journalists and influencers, and it serves to train, inform, discuss, and foster media partnerships that promote gender equality. The International Women’s Day edition of Equality Café brought together 25 journalists and influencers for an open dialogue on acting towards bridging the gap in innovation and technology to achieve gender equality, in line with this year’s theme  DigitAll- Innovation and Technology for gender equality.

Phemelo Segoe, 29, a marketing manager of a company that provides free online learning support to school learners, participated in CSW67 as one of the youth delegates from South Africa. Participating in this year’s CSW67 deliberations strengthened her resolve to empower and support young women and girls to pursue STEM education and careers.

Meet Sophia Youwidi Smith, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Assistant for UN Women Liberia, and the only woman on the ICT working group of the UN in Liberia.

Digitalization is among the seismic shifts that are shaping the twenty-first century. Digital technologies are rapidly transforming society, allowing for unprecedented advances to improve social, economic and political outcomes for women and girls. However, they are also giving rise to profound new challenges that may perpetuate and deepen existing patterns of gender inequalities. The 2023 IWD theme was timely with the COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented control measures rewriting the way we live and work. Innovation and technology are playing a key role in ensuring continuity.

In commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day under the theme, DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, UN Women Rwanda teamed up with Rwanda Stock Exchange, International Finance Corporation, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, UN Global Compact, and the World Federation of Exchanges for the seventh year to co-organize a ‘Ring the Bell’ event for gender equality in Rwanda, joining more than 118 global exchanges around the world to demonstrate support for women’s rights and gender equality. The Ring The Bell for Gender Equality ceremony aims to bring attention to the pivotal role the private sector can play in advancing gender equality to achieve sustainable development goals.

On March 01, 2023, Rwanda launched the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) during the Rwanda Women Leaders Network (RWLN) Summit held under the theme "Building the Next Generation of Women Leaders", a great kick start of the International Women’s month.

Women play a crucial role in the food systems of Africa. From growing and harvesting crops to selling produce at local markets, women are at the forefront of ensuring food security and sustaining the livelihoods of their communities.

On International Women’s Day, we call for a South Sudan in which the rights of all women and girls are secure, and where women can participate safely and meaningfully in decision-making processes at all levels of society. The Women, Peace, and Security Working Group calls on the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to ensure meaningful participation of women in the peace process which is now at a critical juncture.

More than 100 leaders in government, the private sector and civil society across Africa convened to rally for better gender data to quantify and bridge the digital divide. Held under the theme Bridging the Gender Divide for DigitALL Equality in Africa, the virtual forum was organized for International Women’s Day 2023 and in keeping with the theme of the ongoing Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) on innovation, technological change, and education in the digital age.

Civil servants from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Family Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles concluded a three-day capacity building workshop with support from UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa, to understand better the gender equality issues in the agriculture Sector in Seychelles.

Throughout her 36-year career in the justice sector, Chief Justice Martha Koome has protected the rights of women and girls in Kenya. Now, as head of the country’s judiciary, she leads from the front in transforming Kenya’s court processes to enhance access to justice for women and vulnerable groups.

This International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023, join UN Women and the United Nations in celebrating under the theme DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.

A 16 per cent increase in women-held elective seats was one of the successes of Kenya’s 2022 General Election. But for many women aspirants, old practices and norms continued to undermine their campaigns. The contrast between progress and such norms were on full display in Kenya’s coastal region.

Stella Senti is an experienced Telecommunication expert offering a broad portfolio of skills that combine analytical research skills in Telecommunication, strategic Leadership skills, up-to-date Technology knowhow, planning and budgeting, Project Management and Implementation, innovative customer-driven experience, particularly with regards to integration and designing of new Technologies in a progressive and dynamic technological environment.

Evelyn is the Senior Partnerships Manager and Researcher at the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership. Evelyn is a technology enthusiast whose passion is to create ICT4D solutions that impact societies and communities. She loves working on issues at the intersection of Technology and Public Policy. She’s led multiple tech4dev projects in her native Uganda, including founding a fintech startup that works closely to distribute and disburse life-changing goods and services to beneficiaries.

SheCanCode Bootcamp is a leading full-stack coding bootcamp and career prep program founded in 2018 by Igire Rwanda Organization in collaboration with U.S. Embassy, with the aim to help women in Rwanda gain in-demand software and web development skills to start their careers in the tech industry.

UN Women has also  supported the Zanzibar Government to integrate gender perspectives in the Fisheries Policy of 2022, is working with UNDP and UNEP to support the development of Zanzibar’s Marine Spatial Planning Process, and is implementing various initiatives geared towards enhancing the participation of women in blue economy sectors through a joint programme undertaken with FAO, IFAD and WFP.

To further support these efforts, UN Women Tanzania, in collaboration with the Msalala District Council, strengthened the capacity of local government officials, officers from Police Gender and Children Desks, traditional leaders, healthcare workers and over 200 female and male market vendors on the prevention and response of violence against women and girls in marketplaces.  

Women tend to bear the brunt of unpaid care and domestic work. While unpaid care work is economically important, it prohibits women from entering or fully participating in the labour force. Effective policies should focus on the 5R strategy to address issues both in the public and private spheres,” said Mehjabeen Alarakhia, UN Women Regional Policy Specialist on Women’s Economic Empowerment during the event discussing on how to reduce women’s disproportionate responsibility of unpaid care work.

s a mother of two children with albinism, I also understand the challenges that other parents of children living with disabilities face, so I’m also pursuing a degree in social work so I will be able to do more to help others like me. To continue to raise awareness and support those families. I want a life free of discrimination, and all acts of violence against people with disabilities, particularly our children, so that the next generation of people leaving with disabilities can live their lives without fear.