New Delhi, 03 December, 2022: UK’s leading Telecommunication Company, BT has partnered with multiple non-profit organisations including Breakthrough India, ETASHA, Going to School, IT for Change, Katha, Mentor Together, and People for Action, to empower adolescent girls through digital and life skills in India.
At an event hosted by British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis in New Delhi recently, BT and the British Asian Trust, a British diaspora-led international development organisation, announced that they will work together for a further three years to empower 200,000 adolescent girls. In addition, the partnership will also work with 500,000 stakeholders including parents to change gender norms and improve support for equal opportunities for girls and boys.
As per the announcements, BT along with the British Asian Trust will help 200,000 teenage girls, with improved education, better employability, and enhanced life skills. BT and the British Asian Trust are also partners in the Pledge for Progress initiative by the UK in India to promote gender equality and mobilise real change.
Announcing the partnerships, Pooja Lamba, VP & Director, Global Delivery Capability, BT Global said, “The digital transformation of India has potential to drive the economic empowerment of women and contribute to greater gender equality. This partnership has already achieved significant successes in bringing opportunities to young women from under resourced communities, supporting BT’s manifesto commitments to bring about a more inclusive society by championing digital inclusion.”
The partnership between BT and the British Asian Trust has already reached over 1 million girls in India. The partnership has helped girls access digital and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) skills and employment opportunities, while overcoming gender barriers in their communities. In 2019, this initiative was awarded the ‘Social Impact Project of the Year’ at the UK-India Awards during UK India Week in London.
The three-year partnership, which will run to 2025, will reach young women across high-need communities in Delhi/NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata by bridging the gender gap in education, digital skills and STEM; supporting employment of young women; and creating safe spaces for adolescent girls to engage, learn and grow.
Richard Hawkes, CEO of British Asian Trust said, “Extending this partnership with BT means a new generation of girls and young women can gear up to run the world – in teaching, engineering, robotics or any field they wish. Giving them the digital skills, access to job opportunities and tackling gender barriers supports them to take control over their own destinies and drive change in their communities, and beyond. We are grateful to BT for recognizing this need and supporting such important work shaping future generations.”
As per the officials, the project will be implemented by local organisations Breakthrough India, ETASHA, Going to School, IT for Change, Katha, Mentor Together, and People for Action.
According to BT officials, the social impact partnership is aimed at supporting India’s policies on skilling, education and digital literacy by delivering programs that will empower girls to change their social and economic situations, and in turn boost the national economy. According to an estimate, raising women’s participation in the labour force could add 27% to India’s GDP.
