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U.N. women's group launches program to aid female success in technology

By Sara Shayanian
U.N. Women started a new two-year program Friday for the betterment of young women and girls in the innovation and technology arenas. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
U.N. Women started a new two-year program Friday for the betterment of young women and girls in the innovation and technology arenas. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on Friday launched a new two-year program designed to make innovation and technology work better for young women and girls.

A diverse coalition of 22 partners -- including HP Inc, Johnson & Johnson, and Facebook -- have teamed up for the program for the Global Innovation Coalition for Change to advance market awareness of innovations relating to women's needs and barriers to women and girl's advancement in entrepreneurship and technology.

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"Innovation and technology provide unprecedented opportunities to reach those who are the most likely to be left out of the benefits of progress," U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said.

"They can break women out of isolation and create a market for their innovative ideas and products."

U.N. Women noted in the press release that technology and innovation can provide women and girls with enormous opportunities to thrive in education, health, and financial services. It said potential for improvement is constrained by various barriers, including a lack of women in certain fields and a gender-bias in research.

"[It's] is an important step in creating such partnerships to bring about transformative change in the lives of women and girls," the group stated.

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The first meeting for the GICC will take place on Sept. 14 in New York City.

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