Saba Khalid has set herself the goal of breaking some of Islamic Pakistan’s long-held taboos with the help of the internet, smartphones and WhatsApp. “Technology offers a sense of comfort,” she says of the work of Aurat Raaj, her Pakistani social enterprise. It educates women and adolescent girls about menstruation by means of audio messages sent via the WhatsApp social media platform.

Aurat Raaj, whose donors include the UN Children’s Fund, UN Women, the BMW Foundation and the Vodafone Americas Foundation, is not alone in its push to disseminate information about sexuality in conservative Pakistan.

A future of true gender equality is possible. With all the studies and advancements to support women and girls in their education and careers, we have the framework in place to secure a future where women and girls can thrive.  I whole-heartedly believe that by investing in the combination of women and technology, we are investing in the ability to make a lasting global impact.

Although we have made amazing progress the last few decades, there obviously is much more to do. Unfortunately, the uphill battle  just got a bit steeper amid the pandemic of the last 18 months, causing increased stress on women and girls. Nearly 3 million women have left the workplace over the last year due to the pandemic. Difficulties have also compounded online in the digital realm.  A recent study found 75% of girls surveyed said they experienced some form of online harassment or abuse. Over 22% of those who had experienced harassment said they shut down an online account due to that harassment. These numbers only reflect a fraction of other hurdles that women and girls face like internet access or the ownership of computers and mobile.

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I recently changed my hairstyle, well actually my hair color, due to Covid. After all, I’ve had grey since my twenties, and since Covid there have been fewer reasons to color it — no access to salons, no in person meetings and the mess of DIY hair color. I decided to go au natural. My hair is no longer black; to everyone’s surprise, including me, it’s now quite silver. I’ve heard silver hair is trendy, so I’ve become accidentally fashionable.

This story, however, is not to relay my new fashion sense. My hair color defies my age. Let’s put it this way, I am not old enough to be first in line for the COVID-19 vaccine. But the color now makes me feel more vulnerable. Silver is easily spotted on the street and implies that I’m older and, therefore, an easy mark. What’s worse, it’s compounding another fear of being targeted — because I’m Asian. More →

The global pandemic has changed everything. And while the full impact remains untold, one thing’s for sure, we need new ways to meet new challenges. That’s the spirit of The COVID-19 Business Pivot Challenge, launched last week by OpenIDEO in partnership with the Vodafone Americas Foundation.

The goal of the initiative is to help businesses discover how they can support the world’s immediate needs during the COVID-19 response. I’m positive that there are creative, imaginative and inspirational solutions that can help shape a more just and resilient future – that is the ultimate vision.

As part of this Challenge, the Vodafone Americas Foundation will award a total of $50,000 in funding to five selected submissions ($10,000 each) related to the use of IoT, AI, and/or mobile technology. More →

It’s no secret that tech has a diversity problem. Minority groups have historically been underrepresented in the industry, and it’s often a pipeline problem that begins with early education. That’s where Code/Interactive, a non-profit organization focused on inspiring the next generation of diverse tech leaders, comes in. More →