The event organized by NGO Committee on Sustainable Development focused on balancing between technologies for SDGs and inclusive economic growth. In the opening remarks, Mr. Bruno Rios Sanchez, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN, acknowledged that technology could increase income inequality. Seeing this, he called for full engagement of government, technology experts and civil society to reduce the income gap while implementing innovative technologies. After the introduction, panelists coming from across the public and private sectors contributed to a fruitful discussion on the issue.

Ms. Hélène Moliner of UN Women addressed the importance of using technology to empower women. Several challenges are due to gender stereotypes, social structure, and ignorance of the needs of women. For example, the men working in technology companies outnumber the women significantly. Even if women strive to work in this field, they encounter a serious income gap based on gender. To alleviate the problem, UN Women provides virtual skills schools to women who are willing to enter technology companies but lack the skills. To better tackle the challenges, she called for high-level commitment from all stakeholders to adopt a gender responsive approach. Aside from public servants, private enterprises brought together fresh thoughts about innovative technology. They discussed about block-chain and the power of social media. Overall, all speakers emphasized the need to prioritize the role of technology when implementing SDGs.

Meeting: NGO Committee on Sustainable Development – NY – Leveraging Innovative Technologies for the SDGs and Inclusive Economic Growth

Date/Location: Thursday 21th June 2018; 14:00-16:00; Church Center for the United Nations, New York, NY

Written by WIT Representative Vivian Wang