International Women’s Day 2019International Women’s Day 2019

Benin, like the rest of the international community, marks International Women’s Day on 8 March each year. This important day offers a unique opportunity to take stock of the situation of Beninese women, to identify responsibilities and to propose solutions that can eliminate the gender digital divide. This is an issue that has always held the attention of Mrs Aurelie I. Adam Soule Zoumarou, Minister of Digital Economy of Benin, who hosted stakeholders from the digital sector for a session of discussion and reflection on the theme “WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN DIGITAL: What can digital technology do for Beninese women?”. The women selected for the panel, from Moov Bénin, MTN Bénin, ISOCEL, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Communication of Benin and La Voix des Consommateurs, gave their views in turn. “There are offers, but they do not really meet women’s needs,” said Olive Francisco, representative of the consumer associations. This series of discussions invites reflection on the measures that we, as a society, must take in the digital sector to ensure equality for women and girls of all backgrounds and circumstances, and to facilitate their access to positions of responsibility. “I need to know what each of us has done today for the cause of women, the cause of women’s rights,” said Mrs Aurelie I. Adam Soule Zoumarou. The need to provide the necessary support through digital technology, and at the same time to strengthen women’s leadership, was reiterated: segmenting the mobile sector according to the female share of Benin’s population. And beyond designing products or tools for Beninese women, it is important to offer products to rural women and women entrepreneurs: products in the fields of health and agriculture for women farmers, as well as offers for associations and much more. Next, these women and girls must be equipped with tools and, for those who are not literate, made aware in their own language.