Recognizing WSIS Impacts

Unless it acknowledges key characteristics of the Internet, the World Summit on the Information Society will easily undermine it

PP Resolution 70


PP RESOLUTION 70 (Rev. Guadalajara 2010)

Gender mainstreaming in ITU and promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women through information and communication technologies

The Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (Guadalajara, 2010),

  • noting
    • a) that there is a need for ITU to investigate, analyse and further understand the impact of telecommunication/ICT technologies on women and men;
    • b) that ITU should take the lead in establishing gender-relevant indicators for the telecommunication/ICT sector;
    • c) that more work needs to be done to ensure that the gender perspective is included in all ITU policies, work programmes, information dissemination activities, publications, study groups, seminars, workshops and conferences;
    • d) that there is a need to foster participation of women and girls in the ICT domain at an early age and to provide input for further policy developments,
  • encourages Member States and Sector Members
    • 1 to review and revise, as appropriate, their respective policies and practices to ensure that recruitment, employment, training and advancement of women and men alike are undertaken on a fair and equitable basis;
    • 2 to facilitate the employment of women and men equally in the telecommunication/ICT field including at senior levels of responsibility in telecommunication/ICT administrations, government and regulatory bodies and intergovernmental organizations and in the private sector;
    • 3 to review their policies related to the information society to ensure the inclusion of a gender perspective in all activities,
    • 4 to promote and increase the interest of, and opportunities for, women and girls in ICT careers during elementary, secondary and higher education,
  • resolves
    • 1 to endorse Resolution 55 (Doha, 2006), on promoting gender equality towards all-inclusive information societies;
    • 2 to continue the work being done at ITU, and particularly in BDT, to promote gender equality in ICTs by recommending measures at the international, regional and national level on policies and programmes that improve socio-economic conditions for women, particularly in developing countries;
    • 3 to accord high priority to the incorporation of gender policies in the management, staffing and operation of ITU;
    • 4 to incorporate a gender perspective in the implementation of the ITU strategic plan and financial plan for 2012-2015 as well as in the operational plans of the Bureaux and the General Secretariat,
  • instructs the Council
    • 1 to continue and expand on the initiatives carried out over the past four years and to accelerate the gender mainstreaming process in ITU as a whole, within existing budgetary resources, so as to ensure capacity building and the promotion of women to senior-level positions;
    • 2 to consider adopting the theme “Women and girls in ICT” to mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in 2012,
  • instructs the Secretary-General
    • 1 to continue to ensure that the gender perspective is incorporated in the work programmes, management approaches and human resource development activities of ITU, and to submit an annual written report to the Council on progress made on gender mainstreaming in ITU, including statistics on gender by grade of ITU staff and participation of women and men in ITU conferences and meetings;
    • 2 to ensure the inclusion of a gender perspective in all ITU contributions to the implementation of WSIS action lines;
    • 3 to give particular attention to gender balance for posts at the professional and particularly the higher levels in ITU and, when choosing between candidates who have equal qualifications for a post, taking into account geographical distribution (No. 154 of the ITU Constitution) and the balance between female and male staff, to give appropriate priority to gender balance;
    • 4 to report to the next plenipotentiary conference on the results and progress made on the inclusion of a gender perspective in the work of ITU, and on the implementation of this resolution;
    • 5 to make efforts to mobilize voluntary contributions from Member States, Sector Members and others for this purpose;
    • 6 to encourage administrations to give equal opportunities to male and female candidatures for elected official posts and for membership of the Radio Regulations Board;
    • 7 to encourage the launch of the “Global Network of women ICT decision-makers”;
    • 8 to announce a year-long call to action, with a focus on the theme “Women and girls in ICT”,
  • instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
    • 1 to bring to the attention of other United Nations agencies the need to promote and increase the interest of, and opportunities for, women and girls in ICT careers during elementary, secondary and higher education, including by establishing an international “Girls in ICT” day, to be held every year on the fourth Thursday of April, when ICT companies, other companies with ICT departments, ICT training institutions, universities, research centres and all ICT-related institutions are invited to organize an open day for girls;
    • 2 to continue the work of BDT in promoting the use of ICTs for the economic and social empowerment of women and girls,
  • invites Member States and Sector Members
    • 1 to make voluntary contributions to ITU to facilitate the implementation of this resolution to the fullest extent possible;
    • 2 to establish and observe annually the international “Girls in ICT” day, to be held on the fourth Thursday of April, when ICT companies, other companies with ICT departments, ICT training institutions, universities, research centres and all ICT-related institutions are invited to organize an open day for girls;
    • 3 to actively support and participate in the work of BDT in promoting the use of ICTs for the economic and social empowerment of women and girls;
    • 4 to actively support and participate in the work of the “Global Network of women ICT decision-makers” aimed at promoting the work of ITU in using ICTs for the social and economic empowerment of women and girls, including by building partnerships and building synergies between existing networks at national, regional and international levels, as well as fostering successful strategies to improve gender balance at senior-level positions in telecommunication/ICT administrations, government, regulatory bodies and intergovernmental organizations, including ITU, and in the private sector;
    • 5 to highlight the gender perspective in the Questions under study in the ITU-D study groups and the five programmes of the Hyderabad Action Plan.

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