8 March 2023 – Ulaanbaatar: Harnessing the power of technology and innovation for the voice and the political, social, and economic empowerment of women and girls in Mongolia is essential to deliver transformative impact and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia.

However, the inclusion of women and girls and their safety in the digital space must be prioritized to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation are enjoyed by all equally.

This year’s International Women’s Day sheds a spotlight on the potential of innovation and technology in reducing inequalities and closing gender gaps. While advancements in digitalization are transforming economies, industries, and societies, women and girls are often being left behind, or worse, harmed by them.

Though Mongolia is making steady progress toward advancing gender equality, the road ahead to full realization of gender equality remains long and arduous. Current global and local crises, including health emergencies, climate change, food insecurity, and cost-of-living crises, are exacerbating the existing inequalities and deeply impacting Mongolia’s most vulnerable, including female-headed households and rural women. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are essential and can play an instrumental role in strengthening their resilience.

Women and girls in Mongolia continue to face widespread discrimination and violence offline and online, unequal access to technology, finance, healthcare, employment, salary and compensation, and decision-making. Cultural and social norms that reinforce gender stereotypes, significantly threaten women’s participation in digital and public spaces and leave tremendous, often irreversible harm on the mental health, well-being, and safety of women and girls.

There is a substantial divide when it comes to education and employment in the ICT sector in Mongolia. For instance, male students comprise 73 percent of graduates in information technology of total university graduates as of 2022.

We must address these issues with a multi-faceted and concerted approach by challenging harmful gender norms and developing an enabling environment that ensures women and girls have equal access to technology, skills, employment, and opportunities to fully participate in the digital economy.

We call on all Mongolian men and women, boys and girls to join the UN in Mongolia in realizing our common vision for an inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous Mongolia where:

• a girl grows and thrives in a safe and healthy environment without any forms of violence, neglect, or exploitation, and pursues any career, including one in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), should she choose to do so;
• a professional woman gets compensated fairly and equally according to her skills, not by her gender;
• a woman entrepreneur trades at a high level and on improved terms benefiting from the digital economy;
• a migrant woman enjoys decent socioeconomic opportunities without being left behind; •    a herdswoman plays an active role in rural development;
• a girl and woman feel their voices are heard, and a woman enjoys equal participation at the decision-making level at home and in public
• a young woman makes her own decision regarding her health and body without being harassed;
• the rights and welfare of healthcare workers (80%+ are women) are protected and supported.

We call on the Government of Mongolia and all of our partners to work together to ensure women and girls are not left behind or their safety or well-being is compromised when utilizing technology and innovation to accelerate Mongolia’s sustainable development.

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