The Ministry of Labor's Workforce Development Agency (WDA) held a workshop today, September 19th, titled " Women’s Economic Empowering, New Media Digital Upskilling (WEDU): Embracing the Future of Gender Inclusion Digital Economy ". The event brought together experts in the field of inclusive perspectives on digital economy integration from the Asia-Pacific region and domestic sectors to discuss the importance of creating a gender-friendly digital environment. The workshop also explored the expansion and application of digital skills training programs from a gender perspective.
The WDA stated that the workshop specifically invited Rosanna A. Urdaneta, the Coordinator of the Capacity Building Network (CBN) to deliver the opening remarks. Representatives from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Chile also participated as speakers and panelists. Scholars, experts from APEC economies, representative office and representatives from relevant domestic ministries engaged in discussions focused on integrating gender-friendly thinking into the digital economy to meet future talent demands.
The WDA highlighted that in 2019, they proposed the multi-year project "Women’s Economic Empowerment through New Media Digital Upskilling (WEDU)" to APEC. This initiative aimed to advance economic empowerment for women and provide inclusive digital talent training, garnering recognition from APEC. Subsequently, through the analysis of digital marketing skills, the examination of trends in female participation in digital work, and collaborative insights from industry, government, and academia, the " Training Package: Gender Power in Online Marketing" was developed in 2021. Despite the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, the WDA still successfully hosted the "Gender Power in Online Marketing International Training Program" based on this training package. Twenty trainees from nine different economies took part, and they all spoke highly of the program, applying its teachings effectively within their respective workplaces.
The WDA announced the release of "A Toolkit for Developing Digital Upskilling Training Program in New Media from the Gender Lens" at the workshop today. This toolkit consolidates the experience and achievements of the WEDU project's training package development and program implementation. Additionally, through the organization of this workshop, cross-fora and cross-cutting discussions were conducted, along with the feedback and insights shared by international training program instructors and trainees. These efforts aimed to gather relevant suggestions and ideas for developing digital training program from a gender perspective, and to deliberate on the impact of gender-friendly policies in enhancing the inclusivity of the digital economy and empowering women's participation in it. The goal is to collectively promote the cultivation of digital talents and foster a gender-friendly digital economic environment among APEC economies.