DCO partners with Equals to advance women’s empowerment and digital inclusion

The Partnership announcement builds upon a series of DCO initiatives to empower women in the digital economy, ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Berlin, Germany: The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), a global body enabling digital prosperity for all, and the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, today announced their partnership to promote digital empowerment and inclusion.

The partnership of the two organizations brings together a further 100 collaborators from the global business arena, all of whom have committed to furthering worldwide digital inclusion.

The DCO is an international multilateral organization formed in 2020 to enable global prosperity. Representing over half a billion people, it has introduced initiatives focussed on youth, women and entrepreneurship.

The EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age was launched in 2016 by the International Telecommunication Union, UN Women, the International Trade Centre, GSMA and the United Nations University. The partnership is a committed group of corporate leaders, governments, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, NGOs and community groups around the world dedicated to promoting gender balance in the technology sector by championing equality of access, skills development and career opportunities for women and men alike.

Deemah AlYahya, Secretary General of the Digital Cooperation Organization, welcomed the EQUALS partnership:

“It is imperative that all members of our society have access to the benefits of the digital economy. If women do not have a seat at the table, we will all suffer.

“A recent McKinsey report found that USD12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 if underserved women around the world are given access to crucial digital skills education. Together with EQUALS, our joint initiatives will be vital in delivering international impact and enabling digital prosperity for all.”

Lukas Boettcher, Vice-Chair of EQUALS, said:

“We work tirelessly to build a future where everyone, regardless of gender or geography, can fully participate in the benefits of technology. Digital inclusion is our shared vision, and we are excited to join together with the Digital Cooperation Organization to work on joint initiatives that build a connected and equal digital world.”

The partnership builds upon a series of DCO initiatives to empower the participation of women in the digital economy, including the Observatory for Digital Empowerment, which is enabling countries to develop and promote policies that support women and young people to benefit from the digital economy.

The announcement also follows announcements with a range of Non-Government Organization, academic, and private sector collaborations by the DCO, including with Estonia’s Nortal, Jordan’s int@j and Al Hussein Technical University, Uruguay’s CERES and Kuwait’s Boubyan Bank.

For media enquiries, please contact media@dco.org