Academics to advance digital equity for women after UNDP academy

Two Jamaican academics are working on a national strategy to equip women to thrive in the digital era, following their participation in the United Nations Development Programme’s (YNDP’s) Global Leadership Academy on Women Leading in the Digital Era, held in Marrakesh last December.

Dr Ruby Brown, chief executive officer of the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), and Professor Gunjan Mansingh, of The University of the West Indies, Mona, joined more than 60 women leaders from politics, academia and civil society across five continents at the four-day event, hosted by the UNDP and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division.

Delegates were tasked with championing digital equity and inclusive leadership in the age of artificial intelligence. Brown and Mansingh developed personalised leadership maps and action plans to promote women’s leadership in Jamaica’s institutions and communities. Their work is expected to underpin national rollout strategies, scaling the academy’s impact across sectors and generations.

The initiative aims to build a global alumni network of women leaders who continue to collaborate, mentor and support one another. “This is not just training; it is a movement for future-ready, values-driven leadership,” said UNDP Resident Representative Dr Kishan Khoday. “By investing in women’s digital leadership, the Academy contributes directly to inclusive governance, stronger institutions, and the achievement of the SDGs.”

Brown described the academy as “a timely and highly practical experience that strengthened my approach to inclusive, future-ready public leadership”. She said lessons learned would support embedding leadership values in MIND’s implementation of the Public Sector Learning and Development Policy.

Mansingh noted: “The conversations went far beyond theory. I gained practical frameworks and tools for transformational leadership that challenged my long-held belief that leadership is either innate or learned only through experience.” She added that technology, guided by diverse and inclusive leadership, could become “a powerful force for systemic equality”.

The programme featured expert sessions, labs and storytelling circles anchored on four AI-enabled curriculum pillars: transformational leadership, strategic communications, intergenerational leadership, and leading in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

The academy’s mandate reflects evidence of systemic exclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities from decision-making structures. Globally, women hold only 10 to 11 per cent of tech leadership roles, 22 per cent of AI jobs, and 27 per cent of parliamentary seats. AI itself is advancing faster than institutions can regulate, disproportionately affecting women, girls and marginalised communities. Some 75 per cent of girls and young women report exposure to harmful online content, while youth internet access ranges from 40 per cent in Africa to 97 per cent in Europe, underscoring global divides in education, employment and civic participation.