Outcomes
A report from the Working Group on Broadband and Gender.
This Report studies the role that ICTs and the Internet can play in
advancing gender equality agendas, including equal access to new technologies by women and girls. It examines the central question of how access to the Internet and ICTs can help redress some of the inequalities women and girls face in their everyday lives, and whether inequalities in access to the Internet, and the types of content available online, are in fact reinforcing social attitudes towards women. It explores measures of inequality in access to ICTs, the importance of ICTs in educating and shaping the aspirations and hopes of the next generation of women and girls, and the implications of lack of access to ICTs by girls and women. By summarizing the current situation with regards to differential access to the Internet this report sketches some of the potential implications of gender gaps in access to the Internet, based on the inputs and viewpoints of the Working Group on Broadband and Gender.
Expanding access to, and proper use of, ICTs will solve this challenge, while at the same time increasing the efficiency of school systems, improving teacher training and resources, and extending learning opportunities beyond the classroom and to disadvantaged groups. Governments – in developing countries in particular – need to explore ways to bridge the digital divide and implement policies that encourage increased investment in ICT in education.
Conclusions and policy recommendations from the Report
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Integrate Gender and National ICT and Broadband Policies.
Improve Sex-Disaggregated ICT Statistics and Measurement.
Take Steps to Boost the Affordability and Usability of ICT Products and Services.
Improve Relevant and Local Content Online.
Initiate an Action Plan to achieve gender equality in access to broadband by 2020.
Membership
WG-BG comprises the following members, including 20 Commissioners and 21 external members:
| | Commissioner | Organization |
|---|
| 1 | Hamadoun Touré | ITU |
| 2 | Reza Jafari | E-Development Intl |
| 3 | Jasna Matiç | Serbia |
| 4 | Hessa Al-Jaber | ictQATAR |
| 5 | Saad Bin Dhafer AL-QAHTANI | STC |
| 6 | Amir Dossal | Global Partnerships Forum |
| 7 | Suvi Lindén | Finland |
| 8 | Kathy Calvin | UN Foundation |
| 9 | Michel Combes | Alcatel-Lucent |
| 10 | Irina Bokova | UNESCO |
| 11 | Supachai Panitchpakdi | UNCTAD |
| 12 | Julius Genachowski |
The Carlyle Group |
| 13 | José Manuel Do Rosario Toscano | ITSO |
| 14 | Paul Jacobs | Qualcomm |
| 15 | Paul Mitchell | Microsoft |
| 16 | John Chambers | CISCO |
| 17 | Kim Seang-tae | National Information Society Agency, Korea |
| 18 | Jeffrey Sachs | Earth Institute at Columbia University |
| 19 | Hans Vestberg | Ericsson |
| 20 | Speranza Ndege | Kenyatta University |
| 21 | Anne Bouverot | GSMA |
| 22 | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka | UN Women |
| | Invited members – External Experts | |
|---|
| 1 | Akhtar Badshah | Microsoft |
| 2 | Margaret Chan | WHO |
| 3 | Ann Mei Chang | US State Department |
| 4 | Kate Cornick | University of Melbourne |
| 5 | Geena Davis | Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media |
| 6 | Chat Garcia-Ramilo | Association for Progressive Communications |
| 7 | Ann Glover | Chief Scientific Advisor, European Commission |
| 8 | Nancy Hafkin | Women in Global Science and Technology |
| 9 | Omobola Johnson | Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Nigeria |
| 10 | Sonia Jorge | Alliance for Affordable Internet |
| 11 | Jeni Klugman | The World Bank |
| 12 | Cheryl D. Miller | Zen Digital |
| 13 | Amina J. Mohammed | United Nations |
| 14 | Monique Morrow | Cisco |
| 15 | Antonella Notari-Vischer | Womanity.org |
| 16 | Miguel Raimilla | Telecentre.org Foundation |
| 17 | Juliana Rotich | Ushahidi |
| 18 | Zainab Salbi | Women 4 Women Intl. |
| 19 | Deborah Taylor Tate | Tech Needs Girls |
| 20 | Renee Wittemyer | INTEL |
| 21 | Anita Gurumurthy | IT for Change |
