The Revolution of Equal Opportunity through Technology

The latest innovations in newfound technology have become a hot topic of discussion for everyone as workers in all sectors are worrying that they will be replaced. However, technological advances are providing more equal opportunity than ever before.

There is a common misconception that robots are here to steal all human jobs. Even during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I almost 500 years ago, there were similar fears when inventors were denied certain patents for acquiring new machines. While earning a means through hard-earned labor is certainly appreciated, it does not mean that human suffering needs to be glorified. Factories that adopt certain machines to lay off their workers are prime examples of this fear of the robot apocalypse. But what most people fail to see that this notion fits into a classic script which is misguided and cannot replace the impact technology has on equal opportunity.

Loss of Employment

There have been thousands of jobs lost due to the deployment of automated machines and their functionality. Huge corporations who have used these machines are reluctant to give numbers, such as the use of kiosks by McDonald’s and its franchisees. These innovations may seem like a dark depiction of the future of tech but they appear to be doing more good than bad, considering the facts. Robots are no longer part of movies about future dystopias of science fiction books: they are everywhere in our daily lives. Their increasing importance to humans may be alarming for future times, but it is not life-threatening.

Disruptive Technological Shifts

After the Industrial Revolution, the shift to favor technological advancements can be seen as the evolution of humans. Robots are being used in many industries, such as healthcare, businesses, product manufacturing, etc. Experts are debating whether there will come a tipping point where these disruptive technological changes will damage human behavior. Maybe the developed world is not ready for robots to become the focus of our workplaces and education when they have already done so in our routine lives. A radical transformation is coming and it is providing all kinds of equal access to workforces- if implemented in the right way.

While the fear of technology has been a constant theme for centuries, the fact that it will replace human workers was only considered after the Industrial Revolution. Today, these worries regarding automation are somewhat useless. This is because of the concept of digital equity.

What is Digital Equity?

Digital equity essentially means providing more people with equal access to the right technological tools. This means that no matter where a person works or lives, they are equipped with the appropriate means to do their best job. This includes access to the internet, new devices and other tools for assistance. This is a concept that is being applied heavily in the education sector where students are maximizing their learning potential to broaden the scope of their education. This ensures that there are no barriers to the learning process. We will be discussing more of this later.

Equal Opportunity and Automation

There are many different kinds of legal frameworks present in the world today which are making sure that people are pursuing their career goals. This means that any disadvantages that people may face in regard to their race, gender, financial status, disability or religion will be addressed and accounted for. This is an orientation of the concept of equal opportunity, which is where technology is making its mark.

Automation and its developments can be seen in appliances, robots, and AI which give humans more productivity in shorter time periods. As people become more efficient with their jobs with the help of these advancements, there is greater means of economic growth, the safety of workers and convenience for employers. The impact of automation on the skills and wages of humans is another factor, which has been dealt with by many experts and academics.

The Changing Nature of Jobs

As technology changes, so do traditional jobs and their nature. In Australia alone, around 40% of the workforce used to be employed in the agricultural industry during the 1970s. Today, this number is less than a quarter. There are similar changes in other countries, such as Indonesia which had two-thirds of its workforce in agriculture before they shifted to industrial services. This is because acquiring big data from the help of tech is easy and improves profit margins, which in turn leads to company growth. While automation does the menial task of unpaid labor, humans are making their living from the services sector.

Creating New Means of Work

While today’s innovative tech is creating new jobs, the question is how it is bringing about a massive change to equal opportunity. The average workforce is undergoing a major transformation and studies have shown that in the past 25 years, one-third of new jobs have been created. These include IT development, system management, digital marketing, and web design (such as the work at Webmization) and much more. So what kinds of new jobs are being created and what are their benefits?

Equal Opportunity and Tech in the Workforce

The following are some examples of equal opportunity factors in workplaces, with a small focus on the education sector:

Flexible Job Timings

The advantage of working in e-commerce is the flexibility that is provided. Whether it is with job timings or the number of hours one has to work, people get to choose because of equal opportunity by way of tech. This not only adds to employee morale but also improves the overall sense of job satisfaction.

Less Discrimination

Women have been disadvantaged for years even as they try to dominate their jobs. It has been estimated that 11% of women on average are at the risk of losing their jobs because of automation, which is significantly less than their male counterparts. This is a high-risk situation in 30 countries where women are employed in all kinds of sectors. But with the new wave of using tech for equal opportunity work, the probability of women losing their means of living reduces significantly and they gain more access to different kinds of work. Thus, this has become another simple means of enforcing gender equality in the workplace.

Influence on Education

One of the foremost developments of technology and equal access can be seen in the education sector. There have been important developments and contributions being made to revolutionize the way students learn and create more proactive spaces for them. This especially helps those with disabilities, who have been shunned from certain courses or classrooms due to accessibility issues. With the impact of automated help and instructions, this routine of the horrible treatment of the differently-abled has also gone through major differences.

Conclusion

With effective new tools that can assist us with our jobs, it is normal to fear that there may be a machine takeover. While we continue to worry if technology will be our eventual downfall, it is more likely that we will benefit from the rising use of technological assets in our daily lives. From gender equality to education for disabled students, the disruption of tech is not a threat but in fact a saving grace.

Author Bio:

Sarah Jay is a freelance content writer. She is interested in the latest technology trends, web design techniques, and video animation. You can check out more of her work at Webmization. In her free time, Sarah likes to read and travel.