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Project Report
Women in Data (WiD) Conference 2025
The Women in Data (WiD) Conference 2025, held on February 26, 2025, in Kathmandu, themed "सङ्कल्प: Using Data to Turn Promises into Progress," convened over 350 participants to advance gender equality through data-driven solutions. Organized by Open Knowledge Nepal and supported by The Asia Foundation’s Data for Development Program, it featured keynotes, lightning talks, panels, and breakout sessions on AI bias, data storytelling, and gender-inclusive policymaking. The event fostered collaboration, enhanced data literacy among women, and drove commitments for inclusive data practices, with post-conference activities ensuring sustained impact through networking and knowledge dissemination.
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Key Insights
- Theme of Commitment: The theme 'सङ्कल्प' (Commitment) emphasized concrete pledges to use data for gender equality, encouraging measurable actions in policy and practice.
- Diverse Participation: Over 350 attendees from sectors like tech, government, health, NGOs, and media, aged 18–58, brought diverse perspectives, with 35 scholarships increasing access for underserved women.
- AI and Data Bias: Panels discussed the dangers of biased AI due to unrepresentative datasets, advocating for gender-sensitive data collection to counter systemic inequities.
- Data Literacy Focus: Breakout sessions on digital forensics, ethical AI, and storytelling equipped women with practical data skills and tools to influence the data landscape.
- Policy Advocacy: Closing panels called for inclusive, data-driven policymaking, asserting that equitable governance requires representative and gender-disaggregated data.
- Data Storytelling: Workshops and lightning talks emphasized transforming raw data into compelling narratives to support advocacy and stakeholder engagement.
- Collaboration Platform: The event fostered partnerships among civil society, data experts, and government actors to co-create gender-inclusive data solutions.
- Pre-Conference Planning: Five planning meetings and two in-person sessions led to effective logistics, speaker diversity, and participant inclusion from varied regions and backgrounds.
- Post-Conference Impact: Follow-up through blogs, videos, and networking events ensured continued collaboration and knowledge sharing beyond the conference.
- Underrepresentation in STEM: Sessions spotlighted barriers for women in tech and data fields, promoting scholarships, mentorship, and leadership roles to close the participation gap.
