Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Wherever you are. My name is I'm seated in Nairobi and I come from Kenya. I'm currently working as the director, senior director in training and e-learning.Most of what we do is to do with training, especially in relation to um technology, but also in relation to policy and advocacy at the internet society. My topic today um is in regard to gender stereotyping. And one of the biggest questions that you may ask is what is gender stereotyping whenever I participate in activities in relation to goals and technology, I always ask myself, where should we start? This? It is the story of the chicken and egg. Gender stereotyping is to believe and theory that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same that more or less is usually the stereotype that is passed on to girls and indeed to boys from a very early age because you are a girl. There is a way that you're supposed to behave, there is a way that you should be able to go about life. And as such, either the opportunities you have in life are limited or they are beyond nature be depending on which gender you fall under. So this believe that all girls, because they have the characteristic of being female should unfairly be limited or unfairly only be able to access certain certain opportunities or unfairly be able to do only certain things is what I'm referring to as gender stereotyping. I want to let you know that according to research, most Children between the ages of 18 and 24 months can recognize and label gender groups. 18 to 24 months of age, Children can recognize and label gender groups. They may identify others as girls, women or feminine or they may label others as boys, men or masculine. Most also label their own gender. By the time they reach age three, most Children go through periods of Jedi exploration through the way they dress the toys they choose and the roles that they are given from a very early age. There is a lot of gender definition in the way we treat them and the remarks we make about them. I would give my own story here as I grew up, I had a father who did not stereotype gender. I come from a family of 10, 9 siblings and in total, we are 10, 7 girls and three boys in our home. My father believed that all of us could do everything. There was no stereotyping, there was no you are a girl or you are a boy. I remember very early. My dad used to drive an old Volkswagen. It was very new then and it, whenever it refused to start, he would ask me to step on the pedal. I was 105 years when he would ask me to do that. And with that, I realized and I felt I never, it never registered in my mind that I was a girl and my brothers or my siblings were boys. The whole issue of gender neutral parenting is something that we should practice with young Children with babies. In fact, it should start very early when we talk about girls getting into tech and we start getting in uh this idea on their way from when they are 18 year olds, 10 year olds, it's already too late. We cannot change the mindset of many girls when they have finished the university to join, to join technology. Indeed, their careers are already defined. Most Children, as I said, go through gender exploration through the way that we, they dress or we dress them through the toys that we give them and the roles that we give them. So when we buy dolls, makeup cots and pants for girls and we buy trucks for boys, we are already defining their careers and the opportunities that they will have in life. But gender neutral parenting doesn't mean parents deny their child's developing gender. Instead, it encourages parent parents to allow their child to explore the world without socially constructed limits on what is considered acceptable behavior in my age, in my community. If a girl ever cried a tree, they were given a very insulting name that we are not, we are not supposed to climb trees. Then I'm left to wonder who will go up the masts to connect the internet, who will go up the poles to ensure that internet is working today. When we are already told that it is wrong for a girl to go up. Anything that is vertical. Uh uh Gender neutral parenting includes providing Children with a variety of toys, activities, clothing choices and engagement opportunities that are not based on stereotyped expectations. Parents should encourage their Children to pro the world freely without allowing gender to be a limiting factor in their children's explorations. And indeed, the child is not only able to grow as an adult who is free of limitations but also an adult who has respect for others, not based on the agenda or other limitations. They will see human beings as human beings and not as boys or girls. When when does gender neutral parenting start? Actually, this begins in the woop from when you buy the pinks. The moment a lady is told uh she's expecting a boy or a girl. We go shopping, we buy pinks, we furnish their nurseries and baby dresses with clothes that are gender specific. This this should be done with dresses that are neutral toys and boxes with both trucks and doors. Gender neutral parenting practices encourage the availability of a wide range of toys and clothes that are not filled with garments of color based on gender norms that have been passed down to us unless that's what the child prefers. So we are saying rep replace gender specific language indeed in instead of talking about brothers at home, let them talk about their siblings. Don't enforce gender specific colors as I've just highlighted earlier, don't enforce gender specific societal norms. The girls can only wash the dishes and do the baking. The boys can wash the cars and and uh mow the lawn. Each one of us and all the Children should be given equal opportunities. Provide a variety of materials to support development in a wide range of areas and encourage Children to pray with those Children. Let girls not just invite girls for their parties, let boys not just invite boys for their parties until later on when they are approaching puberty, their brains will have been freed, their musicians will have been uh brought down and at that point, they will be able to identify um with different genders in the most responsible way. Um I would say that um in closing, don't create gender-based laws in your own family or treat Children differently based on the agenda boundaries and curfews should be similar for boys and girls because that will also heighten their level of responsibility expectations regarding responsibilities and household of chores should be free for all without uh connotations of girlhood or boyhood or woman or man taking the trash setting the table, helping with meal preparation should not be, you know, gender biased, feeding, the dog should not be gender biased just as allowances are often based on age or maturity. Divide call chores among Children based on capabilities. Uh The benefits that accrue from this, there will be freedom of gender expression, focus on inequalities, increased compassion, respect for others who are different, more varied interests and greater inclusivity. I think I will stop there. That's the end of my talk. If there are any questions, I'll be glad to take. Thank you very much. I don't see any questions anywhere else. So thank you very much and bye-bye.