The BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to launch the Women’s Economic Empowerment and Connectivity (WEE-Connect) Initiative! This new initiative will competitively commission rigorous research that examines women’s access to digital information. WEE-Connect is a separate but sister initiative to BIGD’s WEE-DiFine Initiative, also generously supported by BMGF.
Background
Digital connectivity promotes economic empowerment by providing access to information, economic opportunities, financial services, and flexible work options. However, a considerable gender gap in digital connectivity persists in the Global South. Women face barriers such as limited access, device ownership, digital skills, gender stereotypes, and safety concerns. It is essential to understand and address these barriers to foster a more inclusive digital society. Moreover, further research is required to better understand the mechanisms through which digital connectivity interventions can advance women’s economic empowerment. WEE-Connect aims to address these two gaps in empirical knowledge and ultimately guide the development of evidence-based strategies for fostering women’s economic empowerment in the digital era.
About WEE-Connect
WEE-Connect will leverage the framework established by the WEE-DiFine initiative to establish a knowledge hub on digital connectivity and gender. It will establish funding opportunities for new pilots, existing studies, greenfield studies, qualitative work, measurement experiments, and secondary data analysis. WEE-Connect will also prioritize cost-effectiveness analysis in its funded portfolio, information that is critical to scaling interventions that work. BIGD expects that approximately 14 studies, varying in size and methodology, will be financed through WEE-Connect over a period of three years. WEE-Connect will deepen and expand WEE-DiFine’s work to establish best case practices with regard to inclusive funding. Specifically, both initiatives aim to influence policies and practices so that Southern researchers and institutions are treated as truly equal partners in the research landscape. Finally, WEE-Connect will establish a scholarly community of practice for researchers exploring the intersection of digital connectivity and gender, which does not exist to date.
Next Steps
In February 2024, WEE-Connect will release a white paper framing the intellectual scope of the initiative, as well as its first request for proposals (RFP). Stay tuned for more information, and be sure to join BIGD’s listserv to receive initiative updates as soon as they are released!
