At opening of Digital Week: Actors crusade greater involvement of girls, women in digital technology.

The one week exchange is being organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation, CTO. It is is unfolding under the theme: “Towards a Digital Future”. 

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, set the tone of activities while the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Therese Abena, opened the Women’s Forum.

The President of the Cameroon Association of Telecommunications Operators, Mitwa Ng’ambi, who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of MTN Cameroon, said the forum gives women the opportunity to situate themselves within current digital shifts.

 “Our products and services, our infrastructures, our technologies, and our innovations are at the heart of the daily lives of Cameroonians,” Mitwa said, adding that: “We have democratised access to mobile communications. We have democratised access to the internet and other information and communication technology tools”.

Throughout this week, the MTN Cameroon boss said women will discuss, debate, share and experiences to improve the inclusion of the women and girls in the digital journey.

According to her, the “construction of this future has been underway for several years, because it is not a destination but a journey. A journey we are taking together. A journey on a train, with carriages and stages. One of these wagons is the one that is supposed to transport girls and women. I am one of them. I have the privilege of being part of the trip. But that is not the case for many of us. So it is not an inclusive future”.

Mitwa Ng’ambi, President of Cameroon Association of Telecommunications Operators, speaking during ceremony

Cameroon, CTO determined to work together

Speaking during the ceremony, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, said the holding of the Women's Forum is proof that Cameroon and the CTO are determined to work together to reduce the gender digital divide.

The Women’s Forum, she said, confirms government‘s commitment to involve women in the appropriation of ICTs to achieve empowerment. 

Women, Libom Li Likeng said, must not be left behind in the digital transformation journey. She argued that women and girls must be at the forefront of digital transformation to protect their rights and combat online gender-based violence, facilitated by ICTs.

Reports from the Equals partnership, an initiative by the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, the minister said, shows women remain underrepresented in various sectors of employment, entrepreneurship, and policymaking in the field of ICT. 

The 2020 Gender and ICT Report in Cameroon, the minister said, shows that women represent only 31% of internet users, compared to 69% for men. 

Women, the P& T boss added, are under-represented in jobs in the ICT sector, accounting for just 20% of workers in this field.