By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The Deutsche Gesellschaft
für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) have signed a Joint Declaration to strengthen women’s leadership in
digital policymaking and promote more inclusive digital governance.
The declaration was signed
during the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF-26) in Nassau, The
Bahamas, as the two organisations seek to expand women’s participation in
shaping digital policies and priorities.
GIZ said the initiative
comes against a significant gender gap in the technology and digital policy
landscape, with only around one in five ICT ministers and regulators being
women and approximately 280 million fewer women than men connected to the internet
globally.
The organisations stressed
that increasing women’s access to digital technologies must be accompanied by
greater representation of women in the institutions responsible for setting
digital policy.
Through the declaration, GIZ
and ITU will strengthen cooperation on women’s leadership and inclusive digital
governance, including through ITU’s Networks of Women and related regional
initiatives.
GIZ is already supporting
the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy, which brings together
women policymakers and experts from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean on
behalf of the European Union and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The expanded cooperation
with ITU is expected to provide opportunities to build on that experience and
extend networks supporting women in digital policymaking to broader
international and regional platforms.
GIZ highlighted the
leadership of ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, GIZ Managing Director
Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven and GIZ Regional Director to the Caribbean Jasmin
Ellis-Jones in advancing the initiative.
