Gender gap remains an existing dilemma, according to a report by a United Nations specialized agency.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) saw an increasing gap in the Global Internet User Gender rate of 12.2% percent in 2016, from 11% in 2013.
This was revealed during the Internet Governance Symposium (IGS) on Tuesday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.
Liza Garcia, Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) Executive Director, shared that various challenges pertinent to women’s ability to access and use the internet, based on the investigation conducted by Best Practice Forum (BPF) of the Internet Governance Forum.
In 2015, BFP’s report shows a significant barrier for women wanting to access and use the Internet on certain regions due to online abuse and gender-based violence such as pornography and human trafficking.
Garcia, who led the discussion on the topic of “Mainstreaming Gender and Women in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT)”, stressed that women should have an active role in the participation in the Information Society.
“We need a right space in the Internet Governance to ensure that women’s rights are safeguarded,” Garcia said.
She added, “We believe that as long as the rights of the women have not been addressed, then our dream for an internet for all will remain unrealized.”
The IGS Roadshow that was organized by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) aims to provide a platform for local ICT and human development stakeholders to have best practices on Internet governance.
Garcia also believe that government initiated forums such as the IGS needs to discuss Gender Mainstreaming, as sanctioned by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).
She also urged the government to create an enabling environment where gender gaps are reduced.
Among these are: promoting digital literacy, inclusive policies for women and other groups, safe and gender-friendly spaces and access and affordability,
