Building women’s digital skills key for empowerment — JNCW

AMMAN — The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) on Wednesday called for enhancing women's skills in the science and technology fields, citing growth of the Kingdom's ICT sector.

On the occasion of International Women's Day (IWD), the JNCW said that technology integration allows for remote employment and gives women the opportunity to engage in the labour market without battling transportation hardships to reach cities, where jobs are concentrated, according to a statement cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra,

In addition, JNCW said that access to technology helps women who work in handicrafts and household products to market their products more efficiently and extensively.

The JNCW indicated that the global theme for this year’s IWD: "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality", highlights women's role in science and technology fields.

Jordan has made "remarkable" progress on the E-Participation Index (EPI), jumping 81 ranks to 67th place internationally, compared with 148th in 2020, referring to the UN E-Government Survey 2022, the statement said.

The Kingdom also jumped to the 6th place in the Arab world, compared with 12th in the 2020 report, while in the Human Capital Index (HCI), Jordan advanced 7 places to rank 108th, compared with 115th in 2020.

According to 2018 statistics of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, women alumni in the ICT fields stood at 51 per cent, while the rate of women employed in this industry reached 33 per cent.

The empowerment of Jordanian women requires "comprehensive and participatory" efforts between all relevant authorities without neglecting any "true" opportunity for their empowerment, the JNCW noted.

This goal could be achieved in the future, especially in light of Jordan's "supportive political will for women”, which was reflected in launching a legislative environment to enhance women’s role in public life and increase their political and economic participation, the statement added.