Home ›› 11 Mar 2023 ›› Corporate
Meta, a multinational technology conglomerate that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, pledged to continue its support for the economic and digital empowerment of women in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh’s digital transformation has brought more women online and helped to empower them. We hope to continue working with partners on the ground to support workshops on digital skills for online safety as well as financial freedom of women,” said Meta’s Policy Programmes Director for the Asia Pacific region, Beth Ann Lim.
Lim came up with the remarks on Thursday at an event “Empowering Women and Youth in Digital Spaces” organised by Meta and BRAC, aiming to celebrate International Women’s Day and share the results of their partnership on a digital awareness programme launched last year, said a press statement.
“We know many women still shoulder a disproportionate amount of responsibilities at home. Online platforms can play a big role in bringing markets to their doorsteps. Meta, together with the partners is helping women become more familiar with the digital landscape and learn how to navigate it safely”, said Lim.
The event began with opening remarks from Nobonita Chowdhury, director of the Gender Justice and Diversity Programme at BRAC.
Stressing the importance of digital access for all, she said, “We need to ensure equity in digital access, as the current difference between men and women in using advanced technology is quite high.”
So far, more than half a million BRAC programme participants have learned about online safety, privacy tools and how to tackle misinformation; around 75 per cent of the trainees are women. Besides, nearly 10 million women and youth were reached through a social media campaign on the safe and effective use of social media.
Meta has taken a holistic approach to create opportunities for women in Bangladesh by helping them become more aware and responsible digital citizens and effectively using existing tools to build a community online. This also helped women entrepreneurs to build and grow their businesses, Meta said.
Last year, Meta launched its SheMeansBusiness programme in Bangladesh in partnership with the ICT Division’s Aspire to Innovate (a2i) programme, Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and LightCastle Partners to empower more than 10,000 women across the country by facilitating deeper connections with their customers online to boost their businesses.
It provided small business owners with the skills and connections required to excel using digital tools and platforms.
