On this Women's Day

This year’s theme recognises the role of innovation in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. It is a call for everyone to do things differently if we are to achieve transformative and better development outcomes for women, girls, men and boys in our society.

The state of women participation in innovation and science globally and in the SADC region remain low. Women and girls globally, including in our region, continue to be less engaged and under-represented in technology and innovation, and this creates a missed opportunity in terms of their influence and ideas in transforming our society.