International Conference on Gender and Inclusion Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Technology, and Socioeconomic Empowerment
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Event Description
International Conference on Gender and Inclusion Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Technology, and Socioeconomic Empowerment
The advancement of technology and digitalisationhas led to easier access to information and efficiency in the operation of businesses and people’s daily lives. However, despite thissocial integration and spread of digital technologies, there are many social groups who are encountering exclusion from the fruits of this digital growth. There is a pressing need to identify and closely study the emerging trends in the different types of exclusions that are being faced by minorities, keeping in mind the intersections that arise due to caste, class, religion, disabilities, and gender. These exclusions are also influenced by specific contexts related to geographies and crucial events. With digital technologies becoming important tools in governance processes, media, and the market, there is an urgent need for a coming together of policymakers, civil society, and scholars to strategise and develop policies to foster a more inclusive society that empowers marginalised communities and ensures equal access to opportunities and resources.
The rapid evolution of digital technologies has reshaped economies, societies, and everyday lives but the exclusion of certain minority social groups may lead to an impact in educational levels, access to health care, exclusion from smart cities, rural-urban divide,and participation in governmental processes. With the benefits of this transformation remaining unevenly distributed and a rise in disparities among minorities, there is a need for critical conversations around technology-driven futures to ensure a democraticshaping of solutions that will positively affect their lives and communities.
CDPP, KSPP, MANUU, TEG and DEF will host aninternational conference on the 8th and 9th of August in Hyderabad, to bring together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and thought leaders to address the pivotal intersection ofgender, caste and class,and digital inclusion. We aim to explore how gender influences access to and use of technology, the role of digital inclusion in fostering the economic and social empowerment of these minority social groups, and the strategies required to ensure that their voices are central to shaping technological futures. The selected papers will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Development Policy and Practice.
Sub-Themes: Contributions are invited on, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Digital Access and Gender Equity:
(a) Barriers to digital access for gender minorities in developing and developed countries.
(b) Strategies for closing the digital gender divide.
(c) Case studies on successful digital inclusion initiatives.
- Technology and Economic Empowerment:
(a) The role of digital technologies in combating caste-based and gender-based social stratification.
(b) Access to fintech and its impact on financial mobility and independence.
(c) Digital Upskillingfor empowerment of disadvantaged social groups.
3. Gendered Impacts of Emerging Technologies:
(a) AI and automation: Risks and opportunities.
(b) Gender bias in algorithms and its implications.
(c) Ethical considerations in technology design and deployment.
- Digital Tools for Social Empowerment:
(a) Digital platforms for activism and advocacy for the rights of gender minorities.
(b) Bridging rural and urban divides through technology.
(c) Promoting digital literacy among the marginalised.
- Policy, Governance, and Global Perspectives:
(a) Gender-responsive policies for digital inclusion.
(b) Cross-country analysis of digital inclusion frameworks.
(c) The role of international organisations in promoting digital equity.
Timeline
Call for Papers: March12, 2025
Abstract Submissions:April14, 2025
Presentation of Abstracts: April 21-25, 2025
Notification of Selected Abstracts:April30, 2025
Presentation of Draft Papers: June 15–20, 2025
Final Paper Submissions:July15, 2025
Conference Dates:August 8–9, 2025
Note:Following the submissions of the abstract, selected authors will be asked to present their abstract and the methodology that will be used for the execution of the study between April 21-25. Based on the presentation, the final decision for selection will be made by the conference committee. Those who are selected will be asked to present their draft paper during June 15–20 on Zoom. They will receive feedback, time to revise their paper and submit it on July 15.Once finalised, these papers will be presented as “Draft Working Papers” during the conference on the 8th of August, for the Chairs of the Panels and other eminent guests to give their insightful feedback. After the completion of the conference, the authors will be expected to rework on their papers and prepare them as per the guidelines of the Journal of Development Policy & Practice (JDPP). These papers will then be published in a special issue of the Journal.
Submission Guidelines for Abstract:
Abstracts must include:
- Name of author(s)/presenter(s)
- Affiliation
- Contact details
- Title of the paper
- Word limit of the abstract is 500 words
- Font Style: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12
- Atleast 4 keywords
- Abstract should be sent in a MS Word File.
All abstracts must be submitted by email to info@cdpp.co.in with the subject “Gender and Inclusion Abstract Submission_Author Name”
About the Organisers:
Centre for Development Policy and Practice: Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) is a research group that focuses on development concerns and public policy challenges in the world today. Working with a team of research professionals and expert consultants under the guidance of eminent public intellectuals, CDPP conducts research studies, develops policy papers, publishes a peer-reviewed quarterly Journal, and hosts conferences in addition to regular seminars and workshops.
Centre for Women Studies, Maulana Azad National Urdu University:The Centre for Women’s Studies, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, since its inception has been actively engaged in teaching, training, research, and extension activities. The Centre aims to promote gender equality through education. Through these activities, the Centre is focusing on Empowerment of Urdu Speaking Women and focusing on critical issues pertaining to gender equality at the community level. Maulana Azad National University is a Central University established by an Act of Parliament in 1998. The University is named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the freedom fighter and outstanding scholar, who as the first Education Minister of Independent India envisioned and laid the foundation of technical, scientific, and higher education in India.
Digital Empowerment Foundation: Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) is a Delhi-based nonprofit organisation working towards empowering people to gain access to better healthcare, education, skills, and livelihood opportunities through digital literacy and digital tools. The organisation’s main focus is to make technology easily accessible to the masses, and to empower women, youth, persons with disabilities, and the elderly through providing functional digital literacy, media literacy, and digital up-skilling across agriculture, micro and nano-business, health, education, livelihood, and entrepreneurial skills. Over the last 23 years, the organisation has actively engaged in digitally empowering local communities through its 2,000 Community Information Resource Centres. These centres are supported by a widespread network of 10,000 digital foot soldiers located across 28 states and 250 districts in rural, tribal, marginalised, and unreached areas. DEF has directly impacted the lives of more than 35 million people including people from below the poverty line, women, artisans, youth, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
Kautilya School of Public Policy, GITAM: The Kautilya School of Public Policy, is a part of GITAM (Deemed to be University), Hyderabad, established in 1980. The Kautilya School is dedicated to advancing the study and practice of public policy. Since its inception, the school has been actively engaged in offering academic programmes, research, and outreach activities aimed at fostering the development of competent policy leaders. The school’s mission is to promote effective governance, sustainable development, and societal welfare through education and research in public policy.Through its rigorous curriculum, the Kautilya School focuses on the empowerment of students, particularly in the areas of public governance, policy analysis, and implementation. It encourages students to critically examine the challenges faced by societies and to engage in policy-making processes at both national and international levels.
The Education Group (London) Ltd.: The Education Group (London) Ltd. (TEG) is a leading recruitment partner and full-service consultancy specializing in the tertiary education sector. Since 2020, TEG has been the exclusive service partner of the University of the West of Scotland London Campus, offering solutions in facilities management, global marketing, student recruitment, admissions, and enhancing the overall student experience through TEG Club. With over 25 years of experience, the founders have successfully supported universities in expanding their global presence and helping international students achieve their academic and career goals in the UK.TEG is committed to educational excellence and accessibility, offering over £4 million in scholarships annually to international students in collaboration with UWS London. Their mission is to provide top-quality educational programmes in partnership with prestigious UK universities, fostering an environment where students can achieve their personal and professional aspirations.
Centre for Development Policy and Practice Gender and Inclusion Series
- Gender and Inclusion
The Centre for Development Policy and Practice in collaboration with Maulana Azad National Urdu University held an online conference with the theme “Enabling Equal Opportunity: Looking at India’s Diversity through a Gender Lens” on October 16, 2020. The speakers comprised of scholars, researchers, renowned academicians, bureaucrats, and industry experts. They also represented some of the finest universities and institutions in the country. This conference followed from the first conference held on this subject at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in early 2018.
- Gender and Inclusion:A Focus on Muslim Women in India
This second volume, part of a biannual series, addresses the unique challenges faced by Muslim women, a minority within a minority. It examines narratives of appeasement and relative deprivation, shaped in part by governmental actions such as proposed legislation on Muslim divorce proceedings. The narrative of appeasement and deprivation triggered several debates, and the various concerns regarding Muslim women has emerged. Do they only play reproductive rolesand are they harassed and harangued within their houses that they cannot emerge out of? Do they suffer in the hands of a patriarchal mindset that does not allow them to go to school and later prevents them from seeking employment? In a gendered atmosphere where Indian women continue to do poorly, does the Muslim women face double the hurdles their other compatriots tackle? This volume looks at a few of these questions and tries to develop an understanding of the multiple problems that get highlighted. The publication was done in collaboration with the Centre for Women Studies (CWS) of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU).
- Gender and Inclusion: Women in the Workforce
This publication on women in the workforce aims to give an understanding of the challenges faced by women in the workforce in the context of India—how women navigate between the public and private sphere, how norms and social structures dictate the entry of women into the workforce, and how private or state institutions operate to either enable or restrict the participation of women. Another question that arises is, how essential the participation of working women is for an economy to realise its full potential and operate in a manner that will bring forth growth to a country and its participants.
This edition “Gender & Inclusion—Women in the Workforce” has eight papers, with the papers focusing on addressing the issue with a mix of quantitative and qualitative tools. Through this, the authors have attempted an in-depth analysisof the lack of women in the Indian job market, how the work done by women is invisibilised and, thus, their contribution to the economy, and how social structures impact the lives of women and their views on labour. Women face discrimination in terms of pay, oppression due to patriarchy and norms dictated by caste and religion, and many challenges for entry into the workplace due to which discriminatory structures have been interwoven into both the informal and formal economy. As it is clearly evident that empowerment of women is dependent on their access to job opportunities and the ability to take up these, this edition aims to delveinto these topics and provide a comprehensive understanding of the problems and alternatives that can be pursued.