Women in the Digital Future

Cheryl D. Miller - Zen Digital Europe - 16 April 2013

Women in the Digital Future#womendigital #girlsdigital

Cheryl D. MillerZenDigital.EU


1. Fools will predict the future2. 50 Billion Souls3. William Gibson: The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed


1. Sharing vs. Accumulating2. Open vs. Closed3. Free/Empowered vs. Owned/Enslaved


Sharing vs. Accumulating



“We need to be worried... Risk has already increased dramatically.” - Maarten Van Aalst, Co-Author

“Global warming is increasing the risk of disaster ...The risk will become greater as the future gets hotter."- Michael Oppenheimer, Co-AuthorIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, November 2011


(c) Rex Features The Guardian


“The door is closing. I am very worried – if we don't change direction now on how we use energy, we will end up beyond what scientists tell us is the minimum [for safety]. The door will be closed forever.”

-Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency


Club of Rome “Limits to Growth” Report 1972

Material/physical growth is no longer possible!


Unlimited Growth:

• Empathy

• Compassion

• Love

• Wisdom

• Harmony

• Knowledge(c) GapingVoid


Women have a profound, positive

contribution to make!


2. Open vs. Closed+data, privacy+information+knowledge+wisdom...


2. Free/Empowered vs. Owned/Enslaved

“The greatest measure of a society is how well it treats its weakest members” - ?? / CDM +empowerment: through knowledge & skills+sustainability: 100% of society engaged Imagine, Design & Create the Future!


Key Areas:BiotechNanotechICT4HealthICT for Good

Manipulating the planetManipulating ourselves



Challenge



1in 5 girls want to work in Tech


3 in 10 MST Students are Women


1 in 4 Degrees in CS are Women


24% of IT Workers are Women


1 of 5 in ICT are Women



Opportunity


Economically

“[F]rom the 1970s until today, the fact that more women entered the work force was a big driver of GDP growth. In a snapshot, the number of women participating in the work force went from about 41% to 56% over a 40-year period. If they didn't join the work force, that would have been a 25% hit to GDP.-Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Co.WSJ CEO Council Interview, 21 November 2011



Morally“[C]ompanies with more women on their boards of directors and in senior positions tended to have more active corporate philanthropy efforts, and to give more money, than those with fewer women at high levels..”-Harvard Study, July 2011


Socially

Women involuntarily imitate other peoples’ emotional expressions more than men—a behavior thought to reflect increased activity of “mirror neurons,” cells in the brain that activate both when someone performs an action and when he or she sees someone else perform that same action.-Scandinavian Journal of Psychology Study, 1995

http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0036-5564

http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0036-5564


Health, Wellbeing, Everything!

“Evidence shows that with equal access to education, training and means, women can raise the living standards of their families and inject new life into the local economy...

“Women also play a key role in guaranteeing food security for the entire household. In the hands of women, food is far more likely to reach the mouths of needy children...”-World Food Programme, October 2010


So what do we do?



Restore Balance


The best indicator of the future is the past.


Power of knowledgePower of technology

Power of FUN!


Contact:Cheryl D. MillerFounder & Executive DirectorZen Digital EuropeEmail: [email protected]

@ZenDigitalEU - http://zendigital.eu@Women2020 - http://women2020.org@DigiMuse - http://digitalmuse.org@GHiveOrg - http://g-hive.org@InspireOrg - http://inspiregirls.org@inQubeEU - http://inQube.eu@EUWomen@GirlsDigital@roningirl

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Women in the Digital Future