Washington, D.C. – The following BlogHer post by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and actress Geena Davis discusses the important role technology plays in creating opportunities for women and girls around the world.  Earlier this month, Chairman Royce convened a hearing to review efforts to expand Internet access to women in developing countries, during which actress Geena Davis testified. The hearing was the second in a series to examine the challenges facing women and girls around the globe.

Women Must Have Equal Access to Technology
By Chairman Royce, Geena Davis

Technology is empowering women and girls around the world to improve their lives and their communities. Just ask the female vegetable seller in Tanzania who now uses a popular mobile service to store and transfer money using just her cell phone—protecting her business savings from theft and increasing her control over spending. The Internet and mobile phones can dramatically increase a woman’s access to information and opportunity through access to online education platforms, job opportunities, e-banking, mobile health applications and expanded social networks.

Geena Davis testifying at the “Women and Technology: Increasing Opportunity and Driving International Development” hearing in November 2015. Image: House Foreign Affairs Committee

With the Internet increasingly tied to developing countries’ rule of law, economic growth, and education, it is unacceptable to continue to watch women and girls miss out on the technology revolution occurring around the globe…

To read the full BlogHer post, click HERE.

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