'Digital skills are no longer optional for women'

The Minister of State for Youth and Children's Affairs,Sarah Nyirabashitsi Mateke, has said digital skills are no longer optional but rather essential for women and girls in society.

She made the remarks as Uganda joins the global community to mark and celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child today Monday.

The Day is celebrated in conformity with the UN General Assembly resolution 66/170 of December 19 2011.

The theme for this year’s celebration “Digital Generation. Our Generation”

Mateke explained that the proliferation of digital technology and digital services has made digital skills a prerequisite for full participation in society.

She said that equipping girls and women with digital skills puts them on equal footing with digitally savvy populations and opens up countless opportunities for them in rapidly transforming economies.

"Government of Uganda recognises that supporting girls and young women to develop digital skills translates into stronger girls, stronger women, stronger families, stronger communities and better technology,"she said.

She noted that these skills enable young women to enter into the labour market with the requisite skills, reducing the gender wage gap.