Only 24 of 138 national artificial intelligence (AI) strategies mention gender, raising concerns over the risk of technology deepening existing inequalities against women and girls, says UN Women.
UN Women Executive Director, Ms Sima Bahous, disclosed this while addressing the second regular session of the UN Women Executive Board on Wednesday.
She described technology and AI as new frontiers in the fight for gender equality.
‘’Women and girls must have an active role in shaping the technologies that will define their future, ‘’ she said.
Bahous said UN Women would work to connect policy, evidence, and partnerships to ensure that digital governance delivered meaningful benefits for women and girls.
According to her, AI and technology can either accelerate progress on gender equality or entrench existing inequalities.
“We must also leverage technology’s reach.
“In the second quarter this year, UN Women’s digital platforms gained 1.3 million followers.
‘’This brings our audience to more than 18 million, one of the largest followings in the United Nations system,” she said.
This reach, she said was as an important tool for advocacy and mobilisation, particularly among younger generations.
The executive director said the agency’s strategy was built around its “triple mandate” of translating international norms into laws, policies and budgets.
That, she said, aligned with the UN system around shared priorities and accountability, and ensuring women’s organisations helped shape action on the ground.
She said UN Women was already seeing results from the approach, citing reforms and initiatives across several countries including Albania, Jordan, Papua New Guinea, and others.
“Last year brought renewed commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and gains for women and girls.
“Member states amended 69 laws advancing gender equality.
“52 countries established formal care systems, and women peacebuilders participated in every UN-led peace process, this is only part of the picture,” she said.
She said UN Women’s support contributed to legal reforms that doubled maternity leave for public servants to six months and increased paternity leave from three to 30 days in Côte d’Ivoire.
Bahous, however, warned that the gains made toward gender equality were taking place amid growing geopolitical tensions, fiscal pressures, conflicts, economic insecurity, climate disruption and a rollback of rights.
She said humanitarian crises continued to disproportionately affect women and girls, while their voices and leadership remained too often excluded from response and recovery efforts.
“Crises take many forms, but are never gender neutral,” she said, citing devastating floods in China and Nepal and the Ebola outbreak as examples.
“UN Women is working with governments, humanitarian partners and women’s organisations to ensure that responses reflected the needs, risks and leadership of women,” Bahous said.
She also called for sustained investment in gender equality, warning that gender capacity and resources across the UN system were weakening.
