This policy brief was made in light of the upcoming CSW67 (Commission on the Status of Women) to address the theme on Innovation, Technological Change, and Education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls. The rise of innovation and technology in Africa has played a significant role in the development agenda; digital technology plays an important role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

We find that despite the immense potential for digital technology to revolutionalise the economy and human well-being, it can aggravate the existing inequalities. We identify different groups that have been affected by the current digital divide, including; adolescents, youth, women, persons with disability and refugees, among others. We have clearly diffused the concept of digital inclusion and provided possible recommendations for its implementation.

We identified six major challenges facing women and youth agency and voice in innovation and technology discourse: Cultural and Social norms, affordability, digital skills, awareness, infrastructure and language in Africa. This policy brief provides distinctive recommendations for the aforementioned challenges to the governments, UN agencies and private and public institutions.