CASE STUDY

Supporting digital literacy for women in India

Over the past 18 months, evidence has suggested that, globally, girls and women have been among those most negatively impacted by the switch to digital learning, with less access to technology and the internet compared to male learners.

Without equal access to technology and the internet, girls and women remain at a disadvantage, unable to develop the digital skills necessary to participate and succeed in increasingly digital societies.

OUP is committed to making knowledge and learning accessible through the power of technology and empowering all learners around the world in their learning, regardless of gender. As a result, in October 2020, we partnered with Literacy India to set up an education and skills development centre for women.

The objective of this centre is to enable women to be financially independent by upskilling themselves. Located in Noida, the facility enables women to take part in a variety of courses, including basic computer literacy. It also offers remedial education to children who lost schooling due to a lack of access to digital learning resources, with a particular focus on supporting girls' education. Through skills training, it is hoped that women who benefit from the centre will be able to find rewarding employment or become entrepreneurs, enabling them to better support themselves and their families.

Speaking about the initiative, former OUP India Managing Director Sivaramakrishnan Venkateswaran, said:

'At OUP, we believe in the transformative power of learning and education and this informs everything that we do. I am delighted that our charitable initiative with Literacy India will inspire progress and help these very talented women to realise their true potential.'

In addition to this, OUP and Literacy India have collaborated to support several education and skill development projects across centres in Delhi NCR and Kolkata over the years. Last year, OUP supported Literacy India with setting up the Karigari program in Kolkata, which provides skill-based certification courses to equip adult learners with technology learning. OUP India also worked with Literacy India to set up two digital learning centres during the pandemic, which helped teachers to stay connected children while the schools were closed.