Digital Innovation To Help Empower Women Of IORA

JAKARTA, March 7 (Antara) - Digital innovation could empower women globally, including in the Indian Ocean Rim Association's (IORA) member states, the second session of the group's business summit stated here on Monday. The innovation becomes urgent, because at present, only 46 percent of women in Southeast Asia have a bank account, one of the conference's speakers, CEO CIMB Group Tengku Dato Sri Zafrul Aziz, noted. She added that women in the region still have difficulties in accessing banking loans. Therefore, the digital innovation could help the local women to transfer money without having a bank account and by just using a cellphone, Stephanie Fahey, CEO of Austrade Australia, said. "Developing digital sector could give women a chance to improve their lives," she remarked. Fahey stated that the association's members have another task to encourage women to take up specialized educations, mainly in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics. Australian government's policies have urged women to be experts in mathematics and science, she pointed out. South Africa's Black Business Council President Danisa Baloyi agreed that digital innovation, mainly by developing cellphone to a new level, could change people's lives. "Cellphones have changed many Africans' lives, as the device makes communication and transaction processes much more convenient than before," Baloyi added. Baloyi stated that the association's members should optimize women's potentials in accomplishing many works. Meanwhile, gender equality has been highly acknowledged in Indonesia, Indonesia's Minister of Female Empowerment and Child Protection Yohanna Yembise noted at a different occasion in Perth, Australia, late on Friday. The minister further stated that Indonesia now has nine women members in the cabinet, adding that the number of women in the country's House of Representatives has also soared significantly. "As the country is made of thousands of islands, reaching citizens of remote areas remains a problem for Indonesian government," she reiterated.