Technology as a path to freedom and development - this is the vision of Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping and UNESCO Special Envoy for the Promotion of Girls‘ and Women's Education. At the side event of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing, she called on the world to use the digital era to create even more space for women and girls.
„The development of digital and smart technologies is changing women's lifestyles and opening up new opportunities for them,“ Peng said during a visit to an exhibition focusing on digital and smart women's empowerment. Along with her, the event was attended by Sima Bahous, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director UN Women.
An inspiring symbol of female success was Professor Wang Xiaoyun z Tsinghua University, who was one of five winners of the prestigious L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science 2025 for services to cryptography. Her work is motivating more and more women to pursue careers in mathematics and cybersecurity.
Today, women make up almost half of China's science and technology workforce - Approximately 40 million women experts are involved in key national projects and the development of cutting-edge technologies.
China also supports women in developing digital skills through digital literacy programmes and rural e-commerce training. The result? More than half of the entrepreneurs in China's internet sector are women. Education is another pillar - women make up over 50 % university students and their influence in science, business and sport continues to grow.
From an international perspective, China is becoming a major driver of women's development. In recent years trained over 200,000 women from more than 180 countries, invested over $40 million in projects aimed at women in the framework of Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and in cooperation with UNESCO Created by Prize for Girls’ and Women's Education.
Bahous said China deserves recognition for its efforts to narrow the digital gender gap and advance women's rights. „It is time to join forces to truly empower women and girls in the age of digital intelligence,“ she added.
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