b'Soroptimist InternationalReport for the High-Level Political ForumI want to become a climate change scientist. Science is fun and I will grow up to follow my dream.student participant andgirlsproducesbetterhealthoutcomes,fuelsContext:economic growth, and ensures stable and peacefulSinceitsoutbreak,theCOVID-19pandemichas societies. During COVID-19, many students missedcaused1.5million schoolsacrossIndia toclose, ivvaluable years of education, putting their individualwhile others remained open by relying on the use of development,andsustainabledevelopment,virtualclassrooms.Pre-COVID,only24%of backwards. By creating an open air laboratory,SIhouseholdsinIndiahadaccesstotheinternet . vPune Metro East was able to ensure students couldConsequently,therapidmovetowardvirtual stillparticipateineducation,allowingthemtoeducationplatformshasmagnifiedpre-existing conducttheirexperimentsinasociallydistancedinequalities across the education sector. The United way, and by using technology to share informationNationshasrecognisedthatthedigitaldivideis morepronouncedamongunderprivileged communities,and evengreaterbetween genders due to cultural practices which favour boys. Many studentsinvulnerableanddisadvantaged communities, such as those living in remote areas, extreme poverty, fragile states and refugee camps, lackaccesstocomputersandtheinternet,and possessalowerlevelofcomputer-relatedskills, puttingmanyalreadymarginalisedstudentsata further disadvantage. Left unchallenged, the digital dividewillwidenexistingeducationgaps,and obstruct sustainable development. Conclusions & Recommendations: Women and girls in all their diversity must be guaranteed equal access to education throughout the life course.To ensure this, women and girls must have equal access to electricity, internet, digital technology devices, anddigital literacy training; education spaces, be they physical or virtual, must be safe spaces; all education costs, be they direct or hidden costs, must be reduced or removed to ensure accessibility to education throughout theirlife course.Efforts must be made to improve the responsiveness of education systems to the changing needs ofcommunities. Pandemics, climate change, migration, economic changes and other global impacts effect access to education. Monitoring of accessibility and ongoing adaptability in the education sector is key to equality andinclusivity.Embrace gender mainstreaming across all aspects of education and training. Gender mainstreaming shouldinclude the institutional measures of gender budgeting and financing for development, supporting and targeting women-specific policies and programmes that address gender discrimination and its impact in education.Enable civil society organisations to undertake activities and provide services which support the mostdisadvantaged by providing resources for them to carry out this work on the ground especially during the periods of greatest stress on public services.10'