IGF 2025 Networking Session #21 Breaking Barriers: Overcoming Digital Inequality Together

    .PT
    Luisa Ribeiro Lopes, President of .PT and Board Member of CENTR and EU DNS Women Chapter Marta Moreira Dias, President, LusNIC Sandra Maximiano, President, ANACOM
    Speakers
    Moderator: Luisa Ribeiro Lopes, President, .PT and Board Member, CENTR Claudia Mendes Silva, Women in Tech Ambassador (online speaker) Leonilde dos Santos, President, ARME (Cabo Verde) Marta Moreira Dias, President, LusNIC Sandra Maximiano, President, ANACOM (Portugal) To be defined, NIC.br (Brazil)
    Onsite Moderator
    Luisa Ribeiro Lopes, President of .PT and Board Member of CENTR and EU DNS Women Chapter
    Online Moderator
    NA
    Rapporteur
    Manuel Costa Cabral, ANACOM
    SDGs
    1. No Poverty
    5. Gender Equality
    8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
    10. Reduced Inequalities


    Targets: The session aims to discuss inequalities, with a particular focus on gender inequalities and their impact on economic growth. Gender disparities remain a global challenge, affecting access to the labor market, wages, career advancement opportunities, and participation in leadership positions.
    Format
    Roundtable

    Networking Session: interactive gathering of stakeholders interested in a same or similar issue.
    Duration (minutes)
    45
    Description
    In today’s digital age, access to technology and the internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity. It shapes how we work, learn, communicate, and participate in society. However, digital inequality persists, disproportionately affecting individuals based on age, gender, disability, geographic location, language, and economic status. This session aims to explore the causes of digital disparities, in particular gender gap, the impact, and strategies for building a more inclusive digital world. The debate will seek to encourage reflections on how governments, businesses, and civil society can collaborate to create a more inclusive and economically dynamic environment. Resources: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/ https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/women-digital There are several chapters of DNS Women worldwide, at CENTR was created the European chapter by collaborating with members (mentorships, cross-registry collaborations and positive experiences for women in the community). This initiative will be also presented at the Internet Governance Forum 2025.

    We intend to have online speakers and send invitations to representatives of various communities (CENTR, ICANN, LusNIC, Portuguese-speaking countries), who may attend online. We pretend to start the session with a brief introduction of each participant, and Q&A during and at the end of the session. We plan to use Mentimeter.