I used to live in 2 worlds. One was reality – work, home, family and the wonderful and sometimes obscure elements in between all of those things. And then, there was the second world – that of chocolate factories from Roald Dahl, the Diary of Anne Frank, Achebe’s incredible stories, and other literary masterpieces that always consumed me in the best possible way.Today, my proverbial passport extends to a third world, and one that inherently bridges the former 2 in many ways: the digital universe. I am by no means a digital expert, nor would I ever proclaim to be, but my job does entail building relationships between organisations and their stakeholders, and the world of all things digital has certainly got a strong part to play in this. But it’s more than that. It’s an insatiable curiosity that digital platforms afford me. Transparent at times or cloaked in anonymity on other days, it is what I want it to be..The fact of the matter is that digital is no longer a revolution, but life. It is the status quo.It provokes us to interrogate many things. Today, this is the persistent gender gap in pay, digital education and digital access, amongst others. It prompts us to defy any reason why these deny women opportunity and agency to unlock technology's full potential.But digital is also a mere platform. It is what we make it to be, and its impact is shaped by how we make use of it.Agency. The onus is and will always be on us, men and women. And this requires us to have what I’d like to call “the ducking audacity.”Forgive me for my choice in words, but these words once for me served as a shame in some way. Not too long ago, I too received these words with the utmost cringe. They were applied to me, and in a professional setting, no less..In a team culture that promotes everyone sharing their perspective and using their voice, I found myself in strange terrain when my professional opinion clashed with that of another, and it was very poorly received. I was polite, of course. But this was not relevant.It’s a familiar story for many, I don’t doubt. Older, highly authoritative male leader. Me, a youngish and soft-spoken hesitation in my voice despite being confident in my assertion.Fortunately, I was right. Unfortunately, said man’s response (not so smoothly muttered under his breath) was “the audacity!”The audacity of me to speak up? The audacity of me to question something? Or the audacity of me to simply share it? Cringe. Awkward. Embarrassment. Ironically, I’ve engaged with this person on the continued growth of that idea since. And it’s been positive for all.I can pinpoint the turning point in the entire saga, however. And it’s when I realised having a platform to share my view or voice isn’t enough if I don’t have the agency and use that agency. .Agency, as it turns out, oftentimes casually masquerades as ducking audacity. I’ve added in the expletive for good measure. I go back to this issue in the not-so-distant past often in my mind. And as we look at DigitALL, I think there’s a lesson in it for us all. There certainly was for me.The digital ecosystem holds infinite possibilities. We are a global community now in every sense. We can engage in ways never seen before. Digital literacy and tech investment is seeing those who’ve never had access or opportunity to advance in key areas now unleash their potential and impact. Women in even the most marginalised communities have a larger and more real time platform to tell their story to the world. We can study entire degrees without leaving the house, and deliver social impact in communities we’ve never had the privilege to travel to.There is progress, no doubt. But do we not owe it to ourselves and each other to do more?.For us to break barriers and truly achieve DigitALL, it comes back to ensuring we have our own audacity to boldly show up, use our own voices that refuse to be silenced, and tell our own stories that vehemently oppose accepting things as they are and not for what they could and should be.We all have the ducking audacity, and so we should. In today’s bold and sometimes uncertain world, AI and keyboards help amplify our voices; networks and community help champion support, and a simple “connect” on LinkedIn, a comment in a web chat, or a heart on an Instagram post is the courageous pat on the back to say, “we’re behind you.”As poet Rupi Kaur said, “Our work should equip the next generation of women to outdo us in every field. this is the legacy we'll leave behind.”It begins with a shift in our mindset and our culture. It begins with ensuring we actively deliver gender parity and gender inclusion.If you hold any position of power or even influence, help those around you leverage the digital world to claim their agency. Use your influence or network to help champion greater female digital entrepreneurship, a great area of opportunity for progress. Like, follow, engage, share, support. Ideate, debate and innovate. Apply your curiosity and assert your potential to impact demonstrable change..It may well begin with a single tweet or text to show support for a fellow woman warrior to show that even in the different worlds we occupy, one language unites us all: men and women, together, embracing all that we can to ensure equality for a more sustainable future.This is DigitALL. It is not simply a theme, but a call to action. And we certainly have the ducking audacity to make it real and meaningful.So, let’s.
I used to live in 2 worlds. One was reality – work, home, family and the wonderful and sometimes obscure elements in between all of those things. And then, there was the second world – that of chocolate factories from Roald Dahl, the Diary of Anne Frank, Achebe’s incredible stories, and other literary masterpieces that always consumed me in the best possible way.Today, my proverbial passport extends to a third world, and one that inherently bridges the former 2 in many ways: the digital universe. I am by no means a digital expert, nor would I ever proclaim to be, but my job does entail building relationships between organisations and their stakeholders, and the world of all things digital has certainly got a strong part to play in this. But it’s more than that. It’s an insatiable curiosity that digital platforms afford me. Transparent at times or cloaked in anonymity on other days, it is what I want it to be..The fact of the matter is that digital is no longer a revolution, but life. It is the status quo.It provokes us to interrogate many things. Today, this is the persistent gender gap in pay, digital education and digital access, amongst others. It prompts us to defy any reason why these deny women opportunity and agency to unlock technology's full potential.But digital is also a mere platform. It is what we make it to be, and its impact is shaped by how we make use of it.Agency. The onus is and will always be on us, men and women. And this requires us to have what I’d like to call “the ducking audacity.”Forgive me for my choice in words, but these words once for me served as a shame in some way. Not too long ago, I too received these words with the utmost cringe. They were applied to me, and in a professional setting, no less..In a team culture that promotes everyone sharing their perspective and using their voice, I found myself in strange terrain when my professional opinion clashed with that of another, and it was very poorly received. I was polite, of course. But this was not relevant.It’s a familiar story for many, I don’t doubt. Older, highly authoritative male leader. Me, a youngish and soft-spoken hesitation in my voice despite being confident in my assertion.Fortunately, I was right. Unfortunately, said man’s response (not so smoothly muttered under his breath) was “the audacity!”The audacity of me to speak up? The audacity of me to question something? Or the audacity of me to simply share it? Cringe. Awkward. Embarrassment. Ironically, I’ve engaged with this person on the continued growth of that idea since. And it’s been positive for all.I can pinpoint the turning point in the entire saga, however. And it’s when I realised having a platform to share my view or voice isn’t enough if I don’t have the agency and use that agency. .Agency, as it turns out, oftentimes casually masquerades as ducking audacity. I’ve added in the expletive for good measure. I go back to this issue in the not-so-distant past often in my mind. And as we look at DigitALL, I think there’s a lesson in it for us all. There certainly was for me.The digital ecosystem holds infinite possibilities. We are a global community now in every sense. We can engage in ways never seen before. Digital literacy and tech investment is seeing those who’ve never had access or opportunity to advance in key areas now unleash their potential and impact. Women in even the most marginalised communities have a larger and more real time platform to tell their story to the world. We can study entire degrees without leaving the house, and deliver social impact in communities we’ve never had the privilege to travel to.There is progress, no doubt. But do we not owe it to ourselves and each other to do more?.For us to break barriers and truly achieve DigitALL, it comes back to ensuring we have our own audacity to boldly show up, use our own voices that refuse to be silenced, and tell our own stories that vehemently oppose accepting things as they are and not for what they could and should be.We all have the ducking audacity, and so we should. In today’s bold and sometimes uncertain world, AI and keyboards help amplify our voices; networks and community help champion support, and a simple “connect” on LinkedIn, a comment in a web chat, or a heart on an Instagram post is the courageous pat on the back to say, “we’re behind you.”As poet Rupi Kaur said, “Our work should equip the next generation of women to outdo us in every field. this is the legacy we'll leave behind.”It begins with a shift in our mindset and our culture. It begins with ensuring we actively deliver gender parity and gender inclusion.If you hold any position of power or even influence, help those around you leverage the digital world to claim their agency. Use your influence or network to help champion greater female digital entrepreneurship, a great area of opportunity for progress. Like, follow, engage, share, support. Ideate, debate and innovate. Apply your curiosity and assert your potential to impact demonstrable change..It may well begin with a single tweet or text to show support for a fellow woman warrior to show that even in the different worlds we occupy, one language unites us all: men and women, together, embracing all that we can to ensure equality for a more sustainable future.This is DigitALL. It is not simply a theme, but a call to action. And we certainly have the ducking audacity to make it real and meaningful.So, let’s.
