The DDG for Partnerships and Special Concerns Vidal Villanueva III expressed the need to address the low access and unavailability of ICT tools especially for women and girls. In TVET, it is imperative to bridge the digital divide and unlock the digital empowerment of women to build their full capacities and foster sustainable development.

DDG Vidal also encouraged everyone to explore various strategies to digitally empower women in TVET, boost women's economic empowerment through access to resources and financing opportunities, and learn from the best practices to be shared by the speakers from Malaysia and the USA to recognize that greater inclusion of women in the digital economy will bring value, both social and economic.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) together with Coca-Cola Philippines participated in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in its 68th Session (UNCSW68) through a Philippines-led side event titled “Women in TVET: Unlocking Digital Empowerment” on March 18, 2024 at CR-12, UN Headquarters, New York City, USA.

The side event hosted by the UN Women's National Goodwill Ambassador for the Philippines, Karen Davila, highlighted the transformative digital programs for women, stressing their integration into a holistic ecosystem encompassing business skills training, capital access, coaching, mentoring, and networking.

The Assistant Executive Director of the TESDA Planning Office, Katherine Amor Zarsadias talks about digitalization as key driving force to economic development and influences the way we do things including the world of work. She introduced TESDA's efforts to provide the necessary knowledge and skills responsive to industry needs through TVET, which includes strategies which covers upskilling and reskilling of women. She highlighted the TESDA Women's Center as the only TVET Center for women, served the role of catalyst enabler in showcasing gender-specific program for TVET, with all training programs offered in the Center integrated with basic competencies on information and communication technology.

Other speakers included Hon. Geraldine Roman, House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines; Ivanna Dela Torre, the Senior Director of Coca-Cola East Region (PH, Vietnam, Cambodia); Joy Munsayac-Cacal, Coca-Cola Philippines Senior Manager Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability (PACS); Carol Fung, Malaysian Association for Women in Digital & Technology Advisor, and Bama Athreya, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Assistant Administrator.