CSW67 Pitch: Women & digital access(ibility)

During the NGO briefing on January 26, 2023, members of civil society pitched their recommendations to the Dutch CSW67 delegation. Together they had one clear message: Involve us and take human rights in digital spaces seriously.

Bianca Prins, the Global Head of Accessibility at the ING Bank, talked about the importance of (more) women in tech and tech education, especially for women and girls with a disability.

"Can you imagine a world without digital channels, products, services, and social interaction? Still women, especially women with a disability, are less represented in tech, but overrepresented in cases of exclusion by algorithms, digital abuse, even victims of crime. What can we do to improve life of an estimated 1 billion women with a disability worldwide?

As a woman with a disability, I encountered the importance of learning digital skills later in life. Without it you can hardly be independent, as essential services such as banking, utilities, taxes all moved to digital platforms, let alone feel secure using these channels in the digital world of today. With a stronger emphasis on digital accessibility standards such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), which state: perceivable information for all, applications must be Operable and Understandable for all users and can withstand change = being Robust (POUR Principles). An essential start to disability inclusion can be created.

In extension, how can we prevent exclusion based on gender, create equity in the digital world? We need more women in tech, creating the opportunities for early access to computers and mobile devices. Especially for girls with a disability a tech education and/or data management will be the game changer, as we need their representation to assure algorithms of the future are based on representative data for women, with and without disabilities.

We, the women with a disability, also have a task: We need to speak/step up and learn how to leverage with our disability and take our own responsibility to improve our personal position, while our social and physical environment should be accessible and inclusive to make this happen!"

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