Kagame made the observation on Thursday 1st July 2021 addressing participants of Generation Equality Forum.

The Generation Equality Forum is a global movement for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France.

The forum brings together governments, corporations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), youth-led groups and Foundations to secure concrete, ambitious, and transformative commitments for gender equality.

French President, Emmanuel Macron; the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador; United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the CEO of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mark Suzman are among other participants of the forum taking place in Paris from 30th June to 2nd July 2021.

Kagame commended Macron and López for championing the initiative together with Phumzile highlighting that Rwanda is happy to be associated with the Action Coalition for Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality.

He told participants that Rwanda plans to bridge gender gaps in technology by 2026.

“Let me tell you about Rwanda’s plans and commitments in this area. First, we aim to bridge the gender gap in digital access by 2026. We will do this in three specific areas: ownership of smartphones, access to digital financial services, and science, technology, and math studies at the upper secondary level,” he said.

“Second, we will ensure that our innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem is fully inclusive, by doubling the number of women and girls supported by innovation centres,” added Kagame.

He revealed that Rwanda has also engaged the East African Community in pursuit of possible joint commitments in these domains.

“Achieving gender equality in technology and innovation is just one part of the wider struggle to guarantee equal rights and opportunities for women and girls. Every human being, regardless of gender, should be able to live the life that they choose,” stressed Kagame.

“That is the commitment we are all making through the Generation Equality Forum, inspired by the historic outcome of the 4th World Conference on Women a quarter-century ago,” he concluded.

Through different programs initiated by the Government of Rwanda, the number of girls attending Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses has increased from 56.7% in 2015 to 63.9% in 2018.

Rwanda seeks to bridge gender gap in digital access by 2026. Photo East Africa Business Week

President Paul Kagame has said that achieving gender equality in technology and innovation is one part of the wider struggle to guarantee equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.