Belmonte: Women stand to benefit from digitization

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has stressed the importance of digitization to women, especially in education, work, business and access to healthcare services.

Speaking at a forum dubbed “Women Forging the Digital Future” organized by SPARK Philippines last week, Belmonte urged Filipino women to take advantage of the benefits that digitalization provides, especially in terms of their careers and sources of livelihood.

Belmonte said through digitization, women can now participate in the workforce through work-from-home arrangements that allow them to achieve a work-life balance.

She said digitalization also helps women entrepreneurs grow their business and reach a wider market through digital tools such as e-commerce platforms and e-wallets.

“Having their own GCash, GrabPay and Maya accounts has also enabled women to gain financial freedom, control and power,” Belmonte pointed out.

She said the city government has provided e-commerce and digital packages to 1,261 female entrepreneurs through programs such as the “Tindahan ni Ate Joy” for solo parents, “POP QC” for women artisans and “QC Essentials” for livelihood groups.

“In order to help some 200 existing artisan groups, 80 percent of whom are women, to continue doing business during the pandemic, we published five volumes of ‘Made in QC with QR codes’ after each featured product, to guide customers in making online purchases through the Instagram and Facebook accounts of the merchants,” Belmonte said.

She noted the importance of digitization in helping women access healthcare services, especially for those who live in remote areas or have mobility issues.

At the height of the pandemic, Belmonte said the city government utilized an artificial intelligence system called BantAI COVID to monitor the health status of thousands of patients enrolled in the system.

Belmonte said the city government’s telemedicine program has also helped address the needs of women suffering from mental health problems.

She said there is a need to implement interventions that will help bridge the “rapidly widening digital gap,” especially for women from low-income households whose access to digital resources is limited.

The local government has created nearly 4,000 wi-fi access points in more than 800 sites all over the city, allowing residents to access information online.

Belmonte, meanwhile, encouraged more women to embrace the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, saying it would help address the gender divide in the digital space.