Eighteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The human population is predicted to increase by more than one billion people within the next fifteen years, reaching 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050. The Urban population of developing countries is predicted to rise from one third in 1990 to over 50% by 2025. Looking at urbanization, in 2016, an estimated 54.5 per cent of the world’s populations inhabit urban region. By 2030, urban areas are projected to shelter 60% of people worldwide. On the basis of these figures and other global trends, it would appear that Africa and Asia will have the highest share of the world’s female population in the next twenty-five years, resulting in the rise of several issues related to women’s empowerment. In the coming years, the greatest increase in the female population will occur in cities in Asia and Africa, causing social, economic, financial, and organizational problems for socio-economic sustainability. Therefore the task of economic transformation in the course of sustainability initiatives through information and communication technology is essential for creating organizational, operational, and financial management problems addressing women’s empowerment. This paper begins idnetifying the management problems of Media Information Literacy (MIL) concerning women’s empowerment and learning for sustainability to investigate problems related to social-economic and financial risks and management issues resulting from unemployment, poverty, and inadequate resources for socio-economic development. The paper assesses the potential of MIL and intercultural/interreligious dialogue in promoting mutual knowledge and understanding of diversity, both within different societies and internationally for sustainable female empowerment. The paper builds a global network of organizations in the third world for effective application of MIL for sustainability initiatives for women’s empowerment through information and communication technology and medial information learning.