Data is not the new oil. Digital literacy is.

For years, it has been said that data is the new oil. The comparison is appealing, but it is ultimately incomplete. Oil, on its own, has no value. It only became transformative when societies developed the capacity to refine it, distribute it and use it. Data follows the same logic. Its value does not lie in its abundance, but in the ability of people to understand and act on it.

In this sense, the true driver of prosperity in the digital age is not data, but digital literacy.

A society can generate vast amounts of data, invest in artificial intelligence, and participate in global digital markets. But if its population lacks the skills to interpret information, question outputs and engage with technology critically, the benefits of these systems remain concentrated in the hands of a few. Growth may occur, but it will not be broadly shared. Digital literacy changes this equation. It transforms individuals from passive recipients of technology into active participants in shaping it. It allows people to assess information, identify risks, and make informed decisions in environments increasingly mediated by algorithms.

This shift is particularly significant for women and girls.

Across many contexts, women and girls face structural barriers to accessing education, digital tools and decision-making spaces. As a result, they are often excluded not only from the design of emerging technologies, but from the knowledge required to engage with them. This is not simply a question of representation. It is a question of who has the capacity to benefit from and influence the digital economy.

When women and girls gain access to digital literacy, the effects extend far beyond individual outcomes. Households become more economically resilient. Communities are better able to access services and information. Local economies expand as participation increases. The benefits are cumulative and generational.

This is why digital literacy should be understood not only as an educational priority, but as a development strategy.

International cooperation has increasingly focused on bridging digital divides through infrastructure and connectivity. These investments are necessary, but insufficient on their own. Connectivity without literacy does not produce empowerment. It produces dependency. Access to technology must be matched with the capacity to use it critically and confidently. The same holds true for artificial intelligence. As governments and institutions adopt AI systems to inform decisions in areas such as public services, finance and governance, the ability to understand how these systems function becomes essential. Without it, transparency measures and accountability mechanisms remain out of reach for those most affected.

Digital literacy, then, is not a peripheral concern. It is a form of soft infrastructure that determines whether technological progress translates into inclusive growth or deepens existing inequalities.

The implications for gender equality are clear. If women and girls are not equally equipped to engage with digital systems, they risk being further excluded from the economic, political and social opportunities those systems create. Conversely, when they are included, the returns are not marginal. They are transformative.

This is the missed insight in the “data is the new oil” narrative. Data does not drive development on its own. People do. The nations and communities that will thrive in the coming decades will not simply be those that produce or control the most data. They will be those that invest in building digitally literate populations, capable of understanding, questioning and shaping the technologies that define modern life.

The future of the digital economy will not be determined by data alone. It will be determined by who has the knowledge to use it.

Divya Sharma is an AI literacy policy advocate and UNICEF U-Report Ambassador whose advocacy spans the UN High-Level Political Forum as part of Canada’s official delegation and civil society engagement at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. She also serves on the boards of the Nellie McClung Foundation, the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation, and United Nations Canada Sustainable Development Goals Council.