In the mountains of Gulin county in Sichuan province, ancient tea trees have stood for centuries, and wild honey has long been a local treasure. When internet connectivity arrived, it brought not only information but also opportunity.

Liu Qian, a young entrepreneur who returned to her hometown to vitalize its rich yet underutilized resources, quickly recognized this potential. She established an agricultural cooperative to sell local products and built a homestay, employing many elderly local residents. Liu is also supported by a women's cooperative leadership capacity development program in Sichuan supported by United Nations Women and Mengdingshan Academy for Cooperative Development, where she developed skills in digital applications and rural entrepreneurship. She uses short video platforms to showcase the beauty of the region and the local products.

Crucially, Liu ensured that connectivity benefited everyone in her community by introducing the elderly to artificial intelligence-powered voice assistance. When elderly workers encountered a problem such as understanding a new regulation, operating some equipment, or simply seeking information, they usually called their children working in distant cities for help. Now, AI provides immediate, spoken guidance.

Liu's story illuminates a broader reality: when women are equipped with the tools of the digital age, they do not just earn a living — they reshape their futures and the communities. It is a vivid example of what happens when supportive policies, digital infrastructure, and a commitment to women's empowerment converge.

Behind every woman in China stands a robust, multilayered national framework designed to ensure that the digital economy empowers women. As articulated in a 2025 white paper titled China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era, gender equality is identified as a key policy priority, and the advancement of women is seen as integral to the broader framework of Chinese modernization. The country has published four outlines for women's development, each building on the last to create a supportive policy environment.

One of the most transformative aspects of this policy landscape has been the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into women's economic participation. For rural women entrepreneurs, leveraging ICT has enabled them to overcome the constraints of time and mobility.

Liu Mengyue, the founder of a tea factory in Qilong village in Sichuan province, has been an advocate for leveraging technology to bring upskilling opportunities to local women farmers. Since the tea trees are located along the highland boundaries of the plateau, fertilizing and applying pesticides were always physically demanding tasks that only men could do. Nowadays, however, drone technology has made remote fertilization possible. She has also drawn on training received at the Mengdingshan academy to integrate digital technologies into agricultural production and management. In Liu Mengyue's tea garden, half of the drone pilots are women, including a former stay-at-home mother.

Such technological advancement enhances agricultural productivity and operational standardization, and brings equitable opportunities to women. ICT has effectively dismantled the physical barriers that once defined women's limits.

The stories are not random occurrences. The All-China Women's Federation, together with the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, rolled out nationwide e-commerce and live commerce training in 2015. The support ecosystem includes inclusive finance, brand creation, and rural service stations. Institutions such as the Mengdingshan academy have contributed to strengthening rural women's digital and entrepreneurial capabilities. The result is a growing cohort of women e-commerce experts selling local goods nationwide and globally, mastering advanced AI tools.

While the spread of ICT has resulted in tangible economic gains, the deeper significance of this approach lies in its alignment with a proven theoretical framework for women's empowerment. Gender equality is not only about equal access to resources, it is also about cultivating agency — allowing women to become agents of their own development and make their own decisions.

This agency grows by building skills, knowledge, confidence, and experience. A combination of skills and positive self-perception is the proven gateway to empowerment. When a woman learns to use a smartphone to film, edit, and broadcast a livestream, she is not just learning a technical skill but gaining confidence to present herself and her products. When she sees her efforts translate into a sale and income, that confidence solidifies into a new self-image: she is an active creator of value.

The global community celebrates the potential of technology to open doors for young women and girls. The digital road is ultimately a road to empowerment. And for millions of rural women and men across China, that road is now wider than ever.

Niu Xinyi is a program coordinator, and Fan Beibei is a communication officer at the UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education.

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