ADDRESSING THE DIGITAL GENDER DIVIDE IN AFRICA THROUGH THE AFRICAN GIRLS CAN CODE INITIATIVE

Globally, 3.7 billion people don’t have access to the internet. Half of them are women. In some parts of the world the digital gender divide has been shrinking, but data shows it is growing in Africa.To address this, UN Women, in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Telecommunication Unit (ITU) implemented the African Girls Can Code Initiative to train African girls in critical coding and tech skills. Launched in 2018, the first phase of the African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) has trained 600 girls, developed a guide on mainstreaming ICT, gender and coding in national curricula across the continent, launched an eLearning platform.