WSIS Action Plan for
Women and Girls 2035

We reaffirm that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and their full, equal, safe and meaningful participation in the digital space, are essential to close the gender digital divide and advance sustainable development. Our cooperation will empower all women and girls, encourage their leadership, mainstream a gender perspective and counter and eliminate all forms of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence that occurs through or is amplified by the use of technology. We are committed to catalysing women’s economic agency by promoting equitable access to digital infrastructure and skills development, including to financial technologies and skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

We are particularly concerned by persistent gender digital divides. Only 78 per cent of women and girls aged 10 and over worldwide are reported by the International Telecommunication Union to use a mobile phone compared with 87 per cent of men, while only 71 per cent of women are reported to be using the Internet compared with almost 77 per cent of men. Women and girls are also underrepresented in education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, employment, entrepreneurship and other areas of digital activity. All stakeholders have a part to play in addressing and rectifying these gender digital divides.

We recognize the urgent need to counter and address all forms of violence, which occurs through or is amplified by the use of technology, all forms of hate speech and discrimination, cyberbullying and child sexual exploitation and abuse. We will establish and maintain robust risk mitigation and redress measures that also protect privacy and freedom of expression.

We stress the importance of ensuring that women and girls can participate in and contribute to society at large on equal terms and without discrimination and reaffirm that the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in the digital age is critical to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. We recognize that we must urgently counter and address all forms of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, which occurs through or is amplified by the use of technology.

Protecting, promoting and respecting human rights are important in the implementation of all action lines. We recall that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights continues to contribute to their facilitation and assessment. We also call upon action line facilitators to address gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as a core theme within their work, with the full involvement of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and other stakeholders.