Gender And Vulnerable Groups (GVGS) Mainstreaming in Digital Identity Management

Official proof of identity is fundamental to an individual’s ability to exercise their rights and secure access to a range of vital services, such as healthcare, education, mobile connectivity, social security programmes and financial services. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set a target of providing legal identity for all, including birth registration, by the year 2030. However, about a billion people still face daily challenges proving their identity globally (World Bank, 2017). Women and girls are among those most likely to be left behind, especially if they live below the poverty line. Studies have shown that as many as 45 per cent of women in low-income countries do not have access to foundational IDs, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia In the current digital age, identification is considered to be a crucial enabler for individuals to exercise their rights and for progress towards financial and economic inclusion, social protection, gender equality, as well as safe and orderly migration. For governments all over the world, digital identification systems play an important role in enhancing the capacity to target essential services such as cash transfers and subsidies, engage in long-term planning, provide security, and respond rapidly to emergencies through e-government, cashless payments, and the digital economy. National gender, financial inclusion, social protection policies can define a practical path and specific targets for women’s and girls in a country’s social, economic and political sectors as they create an environment in which it is beneficial for women and girls to have a national identity document. However, to ensure holistic and inclusive implementation, a GVGs mainstreaming digital information management system which helps to collect, process and distribute this information in an effective way must be considered in line with the agenda of Identification for Development (ID4D). Thus, the training has been designed to equip professionals in the policy areas of Digital Identity Management, Gender and Vulnerable Groups mainstreaming on the contemporary skills required in the application of Digital Identity Ecosystem to the mainstreaming of GVGs