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

非洲(以及全球)的数字创新发生在高度不平等的社会中，向数字化的转变有可能追踪甚至放大这些不平等。性别不平等是这种不平等的一种，它与教育、阶级、种族、地点、婚姻状况、性取向和残疾线上的不平等交织在一起。两性平等本身就是一项可持续发展目标(可持续发展目标5)，而且已被证明对实现其他可持续发展目标具有重大的次要影响。因此，两性平等的社会对妇女和男子都有好处，但在数字扫盲、信息和通信技术促进发展(ICT4D)和与数字有关的服务设计等领域的项目设计中，两性平等往往是事后才想到的，而不是从一开始就是一个关键目标。女性经常被视为“难以接触到的”，相对被动的参与者，需要特别的鼓励才能被包括在内。这个网络试图改变这种模式，转而将女性定位为自己数字未来的积极代理人。我们将领先的女性改革者和她们的男性盟友团结在一个网络中，该网络与非洲各国的其他女性改革者合作，开发以女性(与男性一起)为核心的数字行动研究。该网络将ICT4D、人机交互设计、数字扫盲培训、数据科学领域的学术领袖与性别平等活动家和来自非政府组织(乐施会、马拉拉基金会)和妇女网络(Asikana，编码空间)的企业合作伙伴(GSMA网络)联系在一起。参与者来自赞比亚、乌干达、南非、坦桑尼亚、肯尼亚、英国和瑞典，每个人都有自己的网络。因此，作为一个网络网络，我们将能够分享良好的做法，找出我们知识中的差距，并制定联合研究议程。我们将一起申请GCRF的大笔赠款，这将使我们能够共同开展有影响力的行动研究。我们试图探索这个重要的问题：非洲的女性改革者如何被赋予权力，共同创造一个性别更加平等的数字未来？根据我们对女性参与数字创新的结构性障碍的分析，GeDIA将专注于我们认为有助于变革的三个重点领域：1)通过为活动家开发培训机会，更好地利用数字公民、社交媒体宣传、数据科学和数据可视化等新工具，扩大对性别平等和平等参与公民生活的倡导；2)确保妇女和女孩公平获得信息技术和数据科学领域的教育、培训和职业机会；3)开发性别公正的服务设计。为与数字有关的公共服务制定更好的共同设计程序(例如，传感器监测的水、环境卫生、个人卫生；产妇保健应用程序)，让妇女作为设计的积极伙伴。我们将召开一系列研讨会和网络研讨会，将网络成员聚集在一起。在这里，我们将相互提供培训，分享最佳实践和现有方法。我们将培育一个GeDIA学院，通过同行支持和指导为非洲大学的女性学者提供支持。来自数据科学非洲的男性盟友将主办一所专注于女性学习者的培训学校，来自赞比亚创新中心BongoHave的男性盟友将帮助主办我们的研讨会。成员名录将允许记者和会议组织者找到关于非洲数字未来的女性评论员。我们得到了DFID和GSMA的支持，他们是我们顾问委员会的成员，我们的合作伙伴乐施会、马拉拉基金会、INIIT肯尼亚承诺总共40个人日，为共同制定这项研究议程做出贡献。他们认识到，如果妇女和女孩要享有平等的数字权利并参与非洲的数字未来，就迫切需要合作研究和行动。

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.