‘Kaka-internet mo yan!’ How digital technology can bring girls and women forward

MANILA, Philippines — Every April 28, the world celebrates International Girls in ICT Day to empower every girl and women to get equal access and opportunities that the internet provides.

This is even more relevant in these unconventional times of working and schooling from home.

Here in the Philippines, tech-savvy women continue to grow with young moms opening online businesses and setting up e-commerce stores to improve their livelihoods. Still from home, girls and teenagers continue to excel in their studies and even pursue their passion for creating online content—proving that Filipina digital natives do not lag behind when it comes to populating online space.

And so, “kaka-internet mo ‘yan!” is no longer the reprimand that it once was, but evolved into somewhat a reclaimed slogan of empowerment for Pinays of all ages.

Empowerment they deserve

“Kaka-internet mo ‘yan!” is no longer the reprimand that it once was, but evolved into somewhat a reclaimed slogan of empowerment for Pinays of all ages.

Photo by jcomp / Freepik

When we look at the numbers, it’s inspiring to know how the gender ratio of internet users has shifted in the last decade or so.

Filipinas have steadily made up 50% of internet users from 2006 to 2019. Also, a survey by the Social Weather Station in 2019 reveals that it is the women who used the internet more often than men.

READ MORE: Women use internet more than men in the Philippines — SWS

Given these numbers, it’s no surprise that improved access to ICTs like the internet is seen to help promote employment and other opportunities that can narrow the digital tech gender gap.

Tech-savvy women continues to grow with young moms opening online businesses and setting up e-commerce stores to improve their livelihoods.

Photo by jcomp / Freepik

Through this, women can be empowered whether they work from home or run online businesses, whether they are stay-at-home moms who help their children in online classes, or whether they are content creators, gamers and developers.

Converge, as a leading ICT solutions company in the country, recognizes their needs and addresses the gap on the internet for women.

Just in time for International Girls in ICT Day, the company presents FiberX Time of Day, a unique, first-in-the-market and award-winning digital solution that offers affordable and flexible plans catering to the different bandwidth needs of Filipinas—perfect for both professional and scholastic pursuits.

FiberX Time of Day allows for high internet speeds at a pre-set time of the day. The Time of Day Plan 2,000 offers a base speed of 100mbps that can be turbocharged up to 200mbps.

The Plan 3,000, on the other hand, comes with a base speed of 300mbps that can be doubled up to 600mbps.

Improved access to ICTs like the internet is seen to help promote employment and other opportunities that can narrow the digital tech gender gap.

Photo by tirachardz / Freepik

Subscribers can choose from two available offerings for the FiberX Time of Day:

• Day Plan – This works best for students, work-from-home employees and moms who guide their children through online schooling, among others. With this plan, bandwidth doubles at peak hours during the day, or from 7 a.m. to 6:59 p.m.
• Night Plan – This is ideal for work-from-home employees working at different time zones, and for streamers who work at night as well as graveyard shift workers and more. With this plan, bandwidth doubles at peak hours during the night, or from 7 p.m. to 6:59 a.m.

Heeding the call

It matters that we are already making strides to make education and infrastructures more accessible to women and girls so they can advance with ease.

Photo by tirachardz / Freepik

Indeed, there is no cookie-cutter solution to pervasive gender issues in digital tech and ICT use. It requires multi-sectoral efforts from among public and private stakeholders.

To this day, digital tech and ICTs are areas exhibiting inequalities for many reasons, including discrimination, lack of resources and the gender pay gap, among others.

As we seek to elevate the discourse, it matters that we are already making strides to make education and infrastructures more accessible to women and girls so they can advance with ease.

For instance, governments should seek to implement policies to help support the rights of women and girls so they can navigate through these waters without hesitance or fear. This means strengthening safeguards from and sanctions regarding harassment, abuse or discrimination.

In the private sector, access, especially to the internet, should be made cheaper and more available to more and more women and girls in the country, right when they need it most.

Converge is here paving the way and making this happen for every Filipina. Here are some benefits it promises to provide today and beyond:

• Up to 100Mbps and 300Mbps that can be doubled up to 200Mbps and 600Mbps, respectively, based on the time preference of subscribers.
• FiberX runs on a pure end-to-end fiber connection that ensures stability and consistency.
• Save up to twice their monthly plan with double the speed for existing customers. Subscriptions translate to P66 per day with 100Mbps of base speed that can be doubled up to 200Mbps at the customers’ preferred time.
• Converge plans can be managed through the GoFiber web portal or mobile app, allowing customers to conveniently apply for a new plan. With the new platforms, they can also upgrade their plan or pay their bills, and get access to customer service.

With Converge’s FiberX Time of Day, Filipinas can better navigate and operate digital spaces. The goal, after all, is to empower them to become effective co-creators of sustainability across different spheres in society.

For existing subscribers looking to upgrade their plan, you may do so via upgrade-now.convergeict.com while new subscribers can apply through the GoFiber app or website at https://www.convergeict.com/fiberx-time-of-day/. — WITH EUDEN VALDEZ