Samantha Power announces opening of WiDEF applications to empower women in the digital world

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF), a $60.5 million initiative over five years aimed at advancing efforts to bridge the global gender digital divide, has opened its inaugural application round, highlighted by a video message from Samantha Power, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Initiated by USAID along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and first unveiled by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Accra, Ghana, in March 2023, WiDEF is now set to start the process of selecting, financing, and boosting investments in established strategies to narrow the gender gap in digital access.

“The gender digital divide hinders development progress—ingraining existing inequities into the fabric of societies of the future, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that drives further disparities. We need a future in which women are empowered to participate as equal citizens in our increasingly digital world. We look forward to working together to achieve that vision,” said Samantha Power, Administrator, USAID.

“I’m proud of our support for the Women in the Digital Economy Fund. Overcoming the gender digital divide is crucial to unlock the potential of women in the digital era. By increasing women’s participation in digital technology, we’re aiming not just to change their status from consumers to creators and leaders; we’re working to forge a path to a future where everyone benefits,” said Anita Zaidi, President of the Gender Equality Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This event gathered leaders from the public and private sectors, along with civil society from around the globe, marking the beginning of an initiative and offering insights into WiDEF’s strategy for realizing its lofty goals. Rachel Vogelstein, Deputy Director of the White House Gender Policy Council, represented the Biden-Harris Administration at the event’s launch.

It is vital to expand women and girls’ access to digital technology to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving this ensures universal access to economic opportunities, government services, education, and healthcare.

In nations with low and middle incomes, nearly 1.5 billion women are without online access. As of 2022, there was a global disparity with 259 million more men than women using the internet, a gap that has led to a $1 trillion loss for the world economy. Bridging this gender digital divide could boost economic activity by an estimated $524 billion by 2025.

WiDEF operates through a consortium including CARE, the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP), and the GSMA Foundation. This group will work alongside leading organizations in the industry to mobilize both local and international private sector participants and investors, committed to overcoming the gender digital divide.

“WiDEF is about putting millions of women at the center of connectivity and information programming. CARE brings our strength in locally led, gender-centered programming in over 100 countries to the effort. The consortium’s collective focus on technology, policy, and gender advocacy offers the greatest opportunity yet to create and sustain an internet that works for the women who could most benefit from it,” said Revi Sterling, WiDEF Technical Director and CARE Senior Technical Director, Digital Inclusion.

“Launching WiDEF is indeed a special moment, one that reflects real commitment and determination to address the stubborn gender digital divide and open the possibilities for women in the digital economy. GDIP is committed to women’s digital inclusion, and we look forward to advocating alongside our global partners to advance this collective effort,” said Sonia Jorge, GDIP Executive Director.

“Closing the gender digital divide has been at the centre of the GSMA Foundation’s work for over a decade, and we are extremely honoured to play an active role in the management of the Women in the Digital Economy Fund. We now look forward to receiving applications to the first round launched today, and to the further two rounds to be announced later this year, focused on large private sector actors, and India specifically,” said Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development, GSMA.

WiDEF is committed to backing initiatives that enhance digital access and affordability, create relevant products and tools, offer digital literacy and skills education, ensure online safety and security, and fund sex-specific data and research. It aims to champion women-led and gender-transformative solutions, products, and tools, focusing on incorporating the perspectives and institutions most affected by the gender digital gap into its efforts.

During today’s event, WiDEF has opened its inaugural application period, encouraging local organizations from around the globe to apply for funding and support. The deadline for submissions is May 6, 2024.

This initiative is supported financially by USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, and the Korean International Cooperation Agency, reflecting a broad coalition of support for addressing digital inequality.

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