Crisis Recovery Sustainability Digital Governance Digital Equity Events Podcasts About

Want global equality? Get more people online

April 20, 2022

We think we live in a digital-first world — but there's no "digital" at all for 37% of the global population.

That's a big problem in today's economy, where you'll miss out on many opportunities for advancement if you're not connected. The digital divide is thus widening the equality gap.

Being offline "places an automatic limit on your ability to be productive and has major ramifications for our society," says Vickie Robinson, head of Microsoft's Airband Initiative to expand broadband access throughout the developing world.

Robinson believes major progress on connectivity is crucial in order to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline because getting people online can be a catalyst to achieve all the other SDGs.

"If we really want to tackle some of these big problems and meet these SDGs in a fundamental way ... getting our arms around digital access for all is a way that we can do it."

GZERO's Global Stage is nominated for a Webby Award! Vote for us

Learn more about Global Stage: https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage/

From Your Site Articles

global stage covid-19 technology vickie robinson tony maciulis digital equity economic impact of pandemic broadband access global equality

More from Global Stage

Future-proofing the internet from radicalization & extremist content

How do we respond to crises and keep people safe when the internet is abused by terrorists and violent extremists? How do we think about prevention? How do we future-proof Christchurch Call to Action (a political summit initiated by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern) as the internet changes into a more immersive environment? Paul Ash, PM Ardern’s Special Representative on Cyber and Digital, discussed with GZERO Media in an interview at the United Nations.

Finland “investing in security and stability” with NATO push

Kai Sauer, Finland’s Undersecretary of State for Foreign Security Policy, told GZERO Media that as Finland awaits NATO membership his nation is already contributing to the alliance. “We are a security provider. We are investing in stability and security in our region,” Sauer said. “We are bringing a lot of capabilities to the alliance. So, it's in everybody's interest, also in Turkey's interest, that Finland and Sweden will become members.”

Why is Russia on the UN Security Council?

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has launched a discussion about how the UN Security Council works, and how it is dysfunctional - especially when Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, is the invading country, said Melissa Fleming, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. In an interview with GZERO Media on the sidelines of the 77^th General Assembly, Fleming reflected on the return to in-person diplomacy after years of disruption caused by pandemic. "There is this real feeling that the UN is the only place for global cooperation,” she said. “We cannot solve the world's intractable problems of climate change, of war, of refugees without multilateralism, and multilateralism is the UN. It is nations working together to solve problems.”

Who can solve the world's "emergency of global proportions"?

Thousands of the world's most influential people are in New York this week to attend the 77th UN General Assembly at a time of multiple related crises. UN Secretary-General António Guterres wants to focus on rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs — the UN's blueprint for making the world a better place. Progress on the SDGs got derailed by the pandemic, to the point that they likely won't be achieved by the 2030 deadline. To get a sense of the scale of the problems and explore possible solutions, we brought in several experts to weigh in for a Global Stage livestream conversation "Rescuing a World in Crisis," hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft.

Digital Equity

Want Africa to grow? Get people and businesses online: Africa expert

How can we bridge the "digital Grand Canyon"?

We'll never fix America's internet without measuring access properly, says FCC chair

Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate

More on Digital Equity