Gender-Just Digital Innovation in Africa (GeDIA): Uniting women changemakers (and their male allies) to co-design gender-just digital futures

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Digital innovation in Africa (and globally) is taking place in highly unequal societies, and there is a risk that the shift to digitisation will trace or even amplify these inequalities. Gender inequality is one such inequality, and it intersects with inequalities along education, class, ethnicity, location, marital status, sexual orientation and disability lines. Gender equality is a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5) in itself and also has been shown to have significant secondary effects on the achievement of other SDGs. Thus both women and men stand to gain from more gender equal societies, and yet in project design in the areas of digital literacy, Information and Communication Technologies for development (ICT4D), and digital-related service design, often gender equality is an afterthought, rather than being a key aim from the start. Women are frequently seen as "hard-to-reach", relatively passive participants who need special encouragement to be included. This network seeks to shift this paradigm and instead position women as active agents in their own digital futures. We unite leading women changemakers, and their male allies, in a network that partners with other women changemakers across African countries to develop digital action research with women (alongside men) as central actors. The network unites academic leaders from the field of ICT4D, Human Computer Interaction Design, digital literacy training, Data Science, with gender equality activists and partners from business (GSMA's network) from NGOs (Oxfam, Malala Fund) and women's networks (Asikana, Coding Space). Participants come from Zambia, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, the UK and Sweden, and each bring their own networks. Thus as a network of networks we will be able to share good practice, identify gaps in our knowledge, and develop a joint research agenda. Together we will apply for a GCRF Large Grant which will allow us to undertake impactful action research together. We seek to explore this overarching question: How can women changemakers in Africa be empowered to co-create a more gender-equal digital future? Based on our analysis of the structural barriers to women's participation in digital innovation, GeDIA will concentrate on three focal areas where we see vital levers for change: 1) Amplifying advocacy in gender equality and equal participation in civic life by developing training opportunities for activists to better use the new tools of digital civics, social media campaigning, data science and data visualisation2) Ensuring fair access for women and girls to education, training and careers in IT and Data Science 3) Developing gender-just service design. Developing better co-design processes for digital-related public services (e.g. sensor monitored water, sanitation, hygiene; apps for maternal health) with women as active partners in design. We will convene a series of workshops and webinars, to bring together the members of the network. Here we will offer each other trainings, share best practice and existing methodologies. We will nurture a GeDIA Academy which supports female academics in African universities through peer support and mentoring. Male allies from Data Science Africa will host a training school focused on women as learners, and male allies from the Zambian Innovation Hub BongoHive will help host our workshops. A members' directory will allow journalists and conference organisers to find female commentators on Africa's digital future. We have the support of DFID and GSMA who are on our advisory board, and our partners Oxfam, Malala Fund, INIITKenya have together pledged 40 person days to contribute to co-shaping this research agenda. They recognise the urgent need for collaborative research and action if women and girls are to have equal digital rights and participate in Africa's digital future.