BPF on Gender and Access

BPF on Gender & Internet Governance: Session at the Berlin IGF

To gather perspectives from different groups and institutions working on gender and inclusion, the BPF issued a call for input. Taking into consideration the 25 responses and webinars where different groups working on gender and inclusion in the digital economy presented their work, a draft outcome document - https://www.intgovforum.org/filedepot_download/5004/1787 - was compiled. It highlights the perspectives of groups working to enable wider participation of women in the Internet ecosystem: as educators, developers, entrepreneurs, content creators or infrastructure administrators. The report also draws on the work of some initiatives whose missions align with the purpose of making women part of the internet’s development - in all its different layers - in ways that builds their autonomy and agency, and provides them with opportunities to participate in the digital economy.

At the Gender and Access BPF’s working session in Berlin, we will discuss the BPF’s preliminary findings, gather information to expand them, and collect broader input to build recommendations for initiatives aimed at achieving Internet access and use that enable women the full enjoyment of rights through the Internet, including being part of the digital economy. We will also explore how to take the BPF’s work forward in 2020. The session will include participation from key stakeholders working on gender issues as an opportunity to strengthen collaboration to achieve meaningful access to the internet and digital economies for women and gender diverse people.

Join us!

Desired outcomes of the session

• Input into the draft BPF output documents for 2019.

• Recommendations for policy and actions to enable women and gender-diverse people’s effective participation in the digital economy and full enjoyment of their rights.

• Identify emerging issues and challenges that should be prioritized in the work of the BPF for 2020.
   

Policy Questions

1. What further cultural norms and barriers do women and gender-diverse people have to confront in gaining access and extracting value for themselves, their families or their broader societies?

2. What is women and gender-diverse people’s experience gaining the necessary skills to participate in the digital economy?

3. What is women and gender-diverse people’s experience in gaining access to the financial support and services needed to be part of digital economy?

4. What are women and gender-diverse people’s experience in gaining access to infrastructure and devices to participate in the digital economy?

5. What is women and gender-diverse people’s experiences in participating in - or trying to participate in - the digital economy as workers, developers or entrepreneurs?

Moderator: Bruna Santos - Coding Rights, Brazil

Remote Moderator: Maria Paz Canales/Anriette Esterhuysen

Speakers:

• Chenai Chair, The Web Foundation, South Africa/Zimbabwe
• Smita Vanniyar, Point of View, India
• Alison Carmer Ramel, 7amleh, Palestine/Israel
• Nicole Pitter Patterson, Jamaica / Kemly Camacho, Sula Batsú, Costa Rica
• Sarbani Banerjee Belur, Gram Marg, India
• Kemly Camacho, Sula Batsu, Costa Rica
• Anita Gurumurthy, IT for Change, India

Segment 1

BPF presentation - 5 min

Draft outcome report presentation - 15 min (3 min each section)

Segment 2 (40 min)

The second segment will discuss how gender considerations impact the ability of women and gender-diverse people to participate in the digital economy. It will also focus on building recommendations that can be used by different organisations and policy-makers to develop initiatives that focus on women and gender-diverse people and foster an environment that enables their full enjoyment of rights by being part of the digital economy. Organisers of other sessions gender-justice related sessions at the IGF are encouraged to attend and contribute.

Possible questions:

• What further cultural norms and barriers do women and gender-diverse people have to confront in gaining meaningful access to the Internet and extracting value for themselves, their families or their broader societies?

• What is women and gender-diverse people’s experience in gaining the necessary skills to participate in the digital economy?

• What is women and gender-diverse people experience in accessing financial support and services needed to be part of digital economy?

• What is women and gender-diverse people’s experience in gaining access to infrastructure and devices to participate in the digital economy?

• What is women and gender-diverse people’s experience in participating in - or trying to participate in - the digital economy as workers, developers or entrepreneurs?

• What are the key recommendations for incorporating gender perspectives in building a truly inclusive digital economy?

• What lessons have we learned from specific models that try to promote women and gender-diverse people’s participation in the digital economy?

Segment 3 (30 min)
The third segment will be divided in two parts in the round table discussion:

• Contributions/reactions from the participants looking to the triggering questions from the previous section.

• An open discussion to evaluate the work of the BPF and discuss possible topics of work for next year as well as to come up with ideas to improve collaborations and promote its work.

Possible questions:

• What topics do you think the BPF Gender and Access should work on next year?

• How do we improve collaboration inside the community in the BPF and across diverse stakeholders throughout the year?

• How can we better communicate the work of the BPF to others, including the general public?

During both parts of the second segment, all participants in the room will be invited to comment, ask questions and contribute to the overall discussion.