Digital Skills Foster Confidence in Life

In a field focused on maps and megabytes, speed and latency, those of us working to realize universal, equitable broadband can sometimes lose sight of what connectivity can mean for people’s day-to-day lives. Today, we are launching some phenomenal research by EveryoneOn CEO Norma E. Fernandez that not only expertly applies the tools of in-depth, careful, and closely observed, qualitative research, but does so to focus on often overlooked groups—low-income African American/Black and Latina women. Her new report, From Fear To Confidence: The Digital Skills Journey of Underserved Women, focuses on women’s lived experiences and offers valuable insights into how digital inclusion programs can be designed to fit into complicated lives and meet diverse needs. Fernandez set out to understand what motivated women to embark on their digital skills journeys, and when they did, what circumstances they encountered that either created a speed bump or smoothed their path. Through interviews and surveys, Fernandez's research discovered common threads, ones that transcend race, ethnicity, and geography.