Women with Disabilities Mastering the Digital Domain - An Experience Sharing Webinar
The Digital Skills for Jobs and Income (DS4JI) project implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) together with the GIZ Global project for Inclusion of Person with Disabilities organised an online webinar on "Women with Disabilities Mastering the Digital Domain - An Experience Sharing Webinar".
The empowering and insightful online webinar took place on 24 July 2023, and was attended by over 85 online participants. The event aimed at developing public awareness of women with disabilities, fostering equality and exploring opportunities for inclusion in the digital space.
Industry experts such as the self-taught IT professional and Deafblind activist Tracy Smith, Disability inclusion specialist from Bradshaw LeRoux, Lesa Bradshaw, Principal of South African National Council of the Blind Optima College, Thomas Simelane, and the Chief Director for Gender and Persons with Disabilities at the Department for Communication and Digital Technologies (DCDT), Petronella Linders were invited panellists for the event.
Puleng Molebatsi, the radio moderator and journalist who facilitated the webinar was supported by Ongeziwe Sisilana for sign language interpretation and joined by Sibongile Shabalala and Wisani Audrey who represented the youth voice.
The panel of experts shared their experiences and knowledge acquired over time around the challenges faced by women with disabilities in the digital economy. “It is the environment that provides challenges, not the disabilities,” said Petronella Linders. Inclusive digital training should encompass more than just providing the right technological equipment. The design of these pieces of training should consider human processes, for example, longer bathroom breaks, especially for female learners. During the webinar, participants shared their views and expressed that trainings provide important opportunities for learners to create inclusive networks and therefore the training spaces should provide opportunities for this too. These are some of the views that were expressed during the discussion in the webinar.
Furthermore, the panellists highlighted the often self-imposed and societal challenges faced by girls with disabilities, who often encounter barriers when trying to pursue careers in technology.
Sibongile Shabalala and Wisani Audrey, female students both with visual disability enrolled for the cyber security training, shared their testimonials about their journey. “It was my first time writing an international cyber security exam, this is an experience I will never forget,” said Sibongile Shabalala. “It was a challenging experience for me to teach students who were not visually impaired, however, I was inspired by the trip to Kenya, it made me realise that nothing is impossible” said Wasani Rathokoa. Their testimonies revealed the importance of having inspiring female role models, the need to introduce technology to young South Africans during their basic education as well as the importance of accommodating their differing needs during their current training.
“We know that common practice in building skills right now is no longer efficient, common practices such as learnership are not feeding into the demand for talent and no longer produce employment results” said Lesa Bradshaw.
“As the South African National Council for the Blind, Optima College, we advocate and empower young women who are blind and partially blind with training support and offer employment prospects. In addition, we advocate for young women to receive mentorship support for them to kick start their careers”, said Thomas Simelane.
The webinar successfully showcased the importance of creating an inclusive and supportive digital training environment that considers the unique needs of women with disabilities. By addressing these challenges and providing reasonable accommodation, the digital space can become more accessible and open to participation for all, regardless of their abilities.
The GIZ Digital Skills for Jobs and Income Project, partly funded by the #eSkills4Girls initiative, expressed their gratitude to all participants and speakers for their invaluable contributions to the webinar's success. They look forward to continuing their efforts in promoting inclusivity and diversity in the digital space.
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