Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building for Empowering Women's Access to Education and Work in Digital and Cybersecurity-Related Fields

Encourages States to adopt and strengthen laws, policies and programmes in relation to women’s and girls’ equal access to education, technical and vocational education and training and women’s decent work throughout their life course in technical and emerging sectors by promoting women’s entrepreneurship and their full, equal, meaningful and safe participation, including through targeted support measures and involvement, in all stages of the cybersecurity ecosystem, including through economic and regulatory incentives, targeted support schemes and policies aimed at achieving balanced representation of women in the cybersecurity sector, including by promoting equal access to recruitment, retention, career progression and leadership opportunities in digital and cybersecurity-related fields;

Calls upon States to promote inclusive and equitable quality education, lifelong learning opportunities and technical and vocational education and training for women and girls, including digital and cybersecurity skills development, and to ensure that digital education and artificial intelligence literacy are integrated into basic education;

Also calls upon States to take appropriate legislative, educational and policy measures to address barriers that limit women’s full access to education, employment opportunities and economic participation and to work with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society, to take steps to close all digital divides and to promote digital inclusion by addressing the challenges associated with access, affordability, safety, digital literacy and digital skills, ensuring that the benefits of new and emerging digital technologies are available to all without discrimination of any kind;

Encourages States, with the support of relevant stakeholders, including United Nations entities such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, within their respective mandates, to identify capacity gaps and national needs in relation to women’s and girls’ equal access to education and women’s access to work in digital and cybersecurity-related fields;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner, at the request of and in consultation with States and in cooperation with relevant United Nations entities, including the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, within their existing mandates, to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to support national efforts aimed at strengthening the realization of women’s and girls’ right to education and women’s right to work in digital and cybersecurity-related fields;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-eighth session;