A/HRC/35/9 interlinked and integrated into their digital security. 47 In addition, as many women human rights defenders still struggle to gain access to online spaces, the need to share devices, use cybercafes and rely on legacy or “dumb” mobile telephones may impair their right to freedom of opinion and expression and further contribute to their digital insecurity. 48 24. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are crucial for enabling the exercise of many other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. States have been called on to recognize that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association can be exercised through new technologies, including through the Internet. 49 The Internet allows women activists to connect and exchange strategies, including across borders, and offers a space for organizing, although it may also render women vulnerable to digital threats. Right to work and to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work 25. The right to work is essential for realizing other human rights. 50 However, women are at risk of losing out in the workplace due to a lack of digital skills. They are underrepresented in many ICT companies and ICT-related roles, with some statistics showing as few as 23 per cent female employees, and the percentage is even lower for women in leadership positions or technical roles. 51 This is likely to perpetuate a low participation of women in digitization processes. 52 Information received describes how some States, business enterprises and others are adopting proactive measures to bridge the gender gap in the digital labour market by promoting education, training and employment opportunities for women in science and technology-related areas.53 26. ICTs can help to improve women’s working conditions by reducing labour time and facilitating flexible working arrangements. 54 They can also assist women workers, especially household, domestic or migrant workers, in claiming their labour rights by providing access to online information, as well as offer opportunities to organize online to improve laws, wages and working conditions and report abuses. 55 Technological innovations are also being leveraged to help track and interrupt human trafficking and forced labour in supply chains.56 Furthermore, evidence shows that migrant workers who are isolated from technology and social networks are more vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation.57 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 8 See A/HRC/31/55, paras. 39, 44 and 48. See Association for Progressive Communications/Connect Your Rights!, “What are the digital security concerns and threats facing women human rights defenders?” (2012). See also Association for Women’s Rights in Development, “Our right to safety: women human rights defenders’ holistic approach to protection”, p. 19. See A/HRC/20/27, para. 84 (k). See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 18 (2005) on the right to work, para. 1. See A/HRC/26/39, para. 58. See also World Economic Forum, The Industry Gender Gap: Women and Work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2016) and European Commission, Women Active in the ICT Sector (2013). Input from Sweden, p. 3. See inputs received for the report. See, for example, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women, paras. 73-74. Leith Dunn and Hopeton Dunn, “Women’s rights, gender and ICTs: empowering household workers in Jamaica”, in Association for Progressive Communications and Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries, Global Information Society Watch (2013). Available from www.giswatch.org/sites/default/files/jamaica_gisw13.pdf. Samir Goswami, “Technology to address human trafficking & forced labour in supply chains” (Issara Institute, 2016). Available from www.projectissara.org/publications. Mark Latonero and others, Technology and Labor Trafficking in a Network Society (University of Southern California Annenberg, Center for Communication Leadership & Policy, 2015). In the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016, it is stated that the European Commission will use the Internet and social networks to target awareness-raising for key groups of concern, including women and children at risk and domestic workers.