Delphine Remy-Boutang, CEO the Bureau & la Journée de la Femme Digitale, Présidente du Global Entrepreneurship Network France
The JFD Manifesto for an Inclusive Digital World is the logical continuation of the White Shirt movement launched in 2017 by the JFD to denounce the under-representation of women entrepreneurs in the media arena. Since then, the white shirt has become the symbol of women’s empowerment in France.
Faced with the rise of digital technology in all sectors of activity, a major risk is emerging: that of a new technological world where women, 52% of the world’s inhabitants, would be marginalised.
However, parity and gender diversity in digital professions and entrepreneurship represent a real economic and innovation lever for our society as a whole. Today, too few women work in the digital world, depriving the economy and society as a whole of their talents and their vision of the world.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap 2020 report, parity between women and men will not be achieved in the world until 2120.
Because the JFD believes that a fair representation of women in the digital world would reduce the 100 years that separate us from parity, we launched the JFD Manifesto for an Inclusive Digital World in April 2019. The ambition of such an initiative is to move from saying to doing by actively participating in the construction of an equitable future for our economy and society.
It is to reduce the gap that separates us from equality between women and men that public authorities, companies and major international groups have committed themselves by signing the JFD Manifesto to take concrete measures in favour of an inclusive digital world.
Under the impulse of JFD, they go beyond awareness to action by implementing pragmatic and scalable measures. Depending on their activity, the signatories undertake to set and respect each year diversity objectives that respond to three major issues: education & training, financing & acceleration, leadership & role models.
As proactive players in gender equality, they commit to impact the present in order to change the future and contribute to an inclusive digital world.
The Challenge of 1000 Entrepreneurs is a joint initiative of Digital Africa and the Africa-France 2020 Summit with the JFD. The objective is to select and invite, on behalf of the French State, 1000 African entrepreneurs to Bordeaux, from 4 to 6 June, to present their projects at La Cité des Solutions, an exhibition dedicated to solutions for sustainable cities and territories that will be held during the Summit. During this challenge, Digital Africa has committed to invite 500 African women entrepreneurs.
The commitment of The Day of the Digital Woman is in the wake of the Great Causes of the quinquennium of the President of the Republic through the promotion of parity and equality.
In April 2019, the launch of the Digital Woman’s Day took place at the Hôtel de Matignon at the initiative of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, in the presence of Cédric O, Secretary of State in charge of digital and Marlène Schiappa, State Secretary for Equality between Women and Men and the Fight Against Discrimination.
The opportunity for the Prime Minister to emphasize that gender diversity is a key issue for the state with two major objectives: to integrate 40% of girls into scientific sectors by 2020, and to obtain 30% to 50% % of the courses of the Grande École du numérique are offered to women. After the creation of a foundation for women in the digital world in charge of sensitizing girls to the digital professions and promoting “role models”.
A committee of wise was created to assess the effectiveness of the actions undertaken and to report on progress each year.
The committee of wise made up of personalities from civil society, politicians, researchers and academics will observe and analyze the effectiveness of the actions carried out for an inventory on March 5, 2020.
If their objectives given on April 11 under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe and through the press (Magazine Challenges), are achieved, they will be “JFD certified”. The committee of wise will present the certifications at the 8th European edition of The JFD on April 21, 2020 at the Maison de la Radio.
Under the high patronage of the French Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, Cédric O
With the participation of Marlène SCHIAPPA, French Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men and the fight against discrimination.