Human rights in the digital age from a gender persuaded | IGF 2023 Day 0 Event #167

Ananda

Drawing from diverse, global and systemic issues, Ananda, originating from a developing South Asian nation, Nepal, initiates a crucial discourse on the enduring digital divide and the prevailing gender gap. An interplay of these multifaceted topics is reflected through various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially focusing on SDG5 for gender equality, SDG10 dedicated to reduced inequalities, and aspects of SDG9, advocating industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

A noteworthy revelation from Ananda’s discussion centres on the glaring gender disparity in internet access, particularly prominent in the Asia-Pacific region. Statistics confirm that only 54% of women, as against 59% of men, gain access to the internet, embodying the global gender digital divide. Furthermore, an astounding 40% of the entire Asian populace remains unconnected to the internet, a daunting concern given the fact that the majority of internet users globally hail from the APAC region.

Ananda accentuates the gender divide as a comprehensive issue, grounded not merely in the digital sphere but extending into offline or traditional domains as well. Importantly, long before the advent of the internet, women and gender minorities consistently struggled to claim their rights, such as the right to education and to vote. It appears that technology advancement has not sufficiently bridged this gap, as these groups persist in experiencing deprivation in the online domain.

Against this context, Ananda champions an optimistic view advocating for equal internet access across all societal strata. Echoing societal equality, this proposal is premised on the belief that the internet acts as a robust tool enabling access to societal rights. Supporting this argument, the slogan ‘access to the internet should be equitable’ is promoted, serving as a potential remedy to assure equal rights in the virtual and broader social context.

An unexpected challenge highlighted pertains to the unwelcome perpetuation of gender biases within emerging technologies. In 2022, generative AI tools like Charity, Google, Bard gained significant traction. These strides, while largely positive, may inadvertently reflect and perpetuate gender biases, casting a pall over technology progression.

Ananda candidly addresses the disturbing prevalence of misinformation and targeted attacks, with striking emphasis on women politicians, actors, and gender minorities. This alarming scenario contributes substantially to perpetuating gender inequality.

However, the discourse emboldens the potential of the internet to serve as an effective tool for mitigating gender bias, misinformation, and targeted assaults, if aptly utilised. Additionally, Ananda posits that a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach is essential to tackling gender bias in technology and combating online aggressions. An integral part of this solution should comprise instilling digital literacy within school curriculums, consequently equipping younger generations to withstand online hazards and promote a more thoughtful, inclusive internet usage.

In conclusion, the discourse underscores the necessity for a comprehensive, collaborative approach to vanquish the digital divide and gender gap. As societies globally step into the digital future, crafting an internet landscape that facilitates greater inclusivity and equality becomes an unequivocal imperative.

Camilio Rattia

The pivotal discussion revolves around the gender disparity concerning digital rights, indicating two main focal points: gender equality and the essential role played by industry, innovation and infrastructure within this perspective. A clearly aligned viewpoint corroborates an ideal scenario wherein digital rights are assured for all; demonstrating a robust belief in the importance of peace, justice, and substantial institutions as reinforced by Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Despite hindrances including reduced participation or funding limitations, the crux of the argument unfailingly shifts towards the persistent gender gap in internet usage. The necessity for continued and robust debate surrounding this issue is deemed critical, even in the face of these obstacles. Varied experiences shared from across continents reflect a unified commitment to combat this gap, advancing towards the end goal of gender equality as outlined in SDG 5.

The discourse places distinct emphasis on digital inclusion, where advocates argue its critical role in effectively bridging the gender gap in digital rights and internet usage. Furthermore, it resonates with the theme of Safer Internet Day, “Together for a better internet”, thus aligning the discussions with the broader movement of digital empowerment.

Moreover, the narrative articulates the necessity for establishing partnerships to achieve these globally significant objectives, underlined in SDG 17. This need for alliances, in envisioning a future devoid of digital gender divide and inequity, is duly acknowledged.

In summary, the discourse underscores the significance of gender equality within the sphere of digital rights, and calls for an ongoing dialogue, alliance-building, and continued innovation, faced with these diverse challenges. The argument supports closing the gender gap in internet usage, promoting digital inclusion, and the need for robust discussions on these topics, regardless of constraints.

Mariana

Mariana, an active participant in Redes Hace, an organisation focusing on indigenous communications, voiced her pleasure and honour in contributing to key panel discussions around gender and internet access. Detrimentally, these discussions are vital in amplifying voices that often remain unheard, ultimately unveiling systemic issues that obstacle gender equality online and offline.

However, gender parity in internet usage belies deeper, systemic issues, with data from the Mexican Association of Internet revealing that 52% of online users are women. This outlines a pressing disparity in access for females and sexual minorities that runs the risk of intensifying existing inequalities.

Mariana’s personal journey into feminism is intrinsically linked to her ability to reach diverse information and narratives online. This underscores the instrumental role of online tools and internet access in shaping personal identities and facilitating comprehension of societal issues such as gender equality.

Nevertheless, the prevailing issue is that technology usability is typically influenced by a male perspective, making it less practically accessible for women. This male-dominated design culture has the potential to be damaging in fostering a more inclusive digital culture.

A clear gender imbalance is evident within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In Mexico, female participation in STEM is shockingly low, with women representing only 30% of professionals in the field. Known deterrents such as online violence, discrimination, and gender-biased education discourage women from pursuing their interest in these fields, emphasising the necessity for comprehensive mitigation strategies.

The value of youth, especially young women, in shaping the future of the Internet was underscored. As a substantial user demographic, their voices in discussions concerning internet development and policies are critical.

Significantly, the rise of feminist organisations in Mexico has resulted in a tangible impact on the representation of younger generation voices, including young trans women. Harnessing online platforms, these collectives are successfully mobilising political movements which transcend physical boundaries and influence real-world conditions.

Ending on a positive note, the necessity of sustaining gender-related discussions on digital platforms was highlighted. This not only provides a constructive medium for ideation and problem-solving but indirectly influences the political shaping of younger generations. Such discussions can serve as a springboard for political education and mobilisation amongst younger women globally.

To summarise, while challenges remain, spaces that enable open and inclusive debates, like the panel Mariana participated in, are essential to progressing dialogue and actions toward gender equality. Despite the systemic issues that persist, the rising engagement of younger generations online offers a hopeful prospect for the future.

Audience

The discussion strongly emphasised the pressing need to address and counter the gender gap apparent in internet usage and digital inclusion. The overriding message centred on the paramount importance of international cooperation and collaboration in overcoming these disparities, particularly focusing on regions where this inequality is most pronounced. In doing so, the dialogue connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the interrelatedness of these issues.

Specifically, the SDGs relating to gender equality and reduced inequalities were underscored during the discourse, signalling the convergence of these objectives with the topic at hand. Alongside these, the SDG centred on the advancement of industry, innovation, and infrastructure was also underscored, demonstrating a broad understanding of the context of the issue and the potential remedies it presents to these global predicaments.

Despite limitations such as a restricted audience reach and funding constraints, the importance and influence of the discussions introduced during this dialogue were underlined. Emphasis was placed on the significance of these dialogues, even if the immediate audience and financial support were comparatively limited. The ongoing discussions generate a ripple effect, contributing to wider conversations and actions foremost towards bridging the gender digital divide.

Notably, the sentiment of the conversation was overwhelmingly positive. Supported by multiple expressions of agreement and appreciation from the audience, the sentiment reconfirmed the relevance and urgency of the issue in today’s society. The audience’s unanimous endorsement of the viewpoints expressed, manifested by their consistent ‘Thank you’ responses, serves to validate the resonance of these perspectives within the broader public.

To summarise, the discussion broadened the perspective through which we view the gender digital divide, proposing a collaborative global approach as an applicable and necessary solution. The linkage to SDGs and the emphasis on the importance of relevant dialogues, regardless of audience size and funding, underpinned the positively received sentiment and audience consent coursing throughout the discourse.

Umut Pajaro

Umut Pajaro Velazquez, a representative from Cartagena, Colombia, has raised significant concerns regarding the underrepresentation of the Gender Standing Group within the Internet Society, a crucial subject pertaining to SDG5: Gender Equality.

A pressing issue is the detrimental effect of the gender gap on human rights on the Internet. Although this issue primarily influences the fulfilment of SDG5, it also impacts SDG10: Reduced Inequalities. Notwithstanding Velazquez’s neutral stance, the overall sentiment towards this matter is generally negative, indicating that it warrants immediate attention.

The severity of the digital gender gap is underscored by statistics revealing that women and gender diverse individuals are significantly less likely to have Internet access. Furthermore, these groups are at a greater risk of experiencing online harassment and violence, which infringes their digital rights. Compounded by their inadequate digital skills, they suffer the most from the digital divide.

There is urgent demand for the bolstering of initiatives that champion inclusivity and improve access to ICTs for women, girls, and gender diverse people. Findings show that only a scant 35% of these initiatives are spearheaded by women and gender diverse individuals, emphasising the requirement for equal representation. The battle for equality also involves the prompt removal of harmful content from social media platforms to safeguard vulnerable users.

Importantly, the necessity to persistently highlight gender gap and inequalities at forums like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is deemed essential. Despite the negative sentiment resulting from the protracted nature of these issues, there is consensus on the importance of these discussions. They put necessary pressure on the private sector and governments to rectify gender imbalances.

Even though progress has been made in reducing the gender gap, sustained efforts through advocacy and ongoing discussions are required to effect lasting change. Despite the persistence of noticeable gender inequality in the digital space, a positive sentiment exists around the possibilities of future progress.

Yulia

Yulia, an esteemed youth delegate hailing from Brazil and associated with the Federal University of Minas Gerais, actively participates in the nuanced analysis of interactions on internet forums vis-a-vis human rights. She was invited to a panel discussion on ‘Human Rights in the Digital Age’, where she dissected various aspects of the online world, delineating the gamification of hatred not only within the Brazilian context but also on a broader international stage. Her research prominently focuses on the online gaming community, addressing the dichotomy and disparities therein.

Yulia asserts that gaming companies predominantly cater to a young male demographic, consequently creating a homogenised and exclusive microcosm. Such a worrisome trend not only marginalises diverse audience groups but indirectly fosters various forms of harm such as racism, sexual violence, and gender-based bias or sexism. She perceives online platforms as potentially harmful spheres of social interaction due to their influential reach.

Yulia ardently champions the cause of diversity within digital spaces. She believes that an inclusive online environment can be cultivated through collaborative efforts involving government bodies, commercial enterprises, and societal groups. Emphasising the adverse effects of an exclusionary approach within online platforms, she highlights that the male-centric gaming culture could potentially discourage aspiring individuals from pursuing careers in science or IT-related fields.

Drawing attention to the pronounced lack of gender diversity within the IT industry, she anchors a correlation with the unwelcoming atmosphere proliferating within gaming communities. Citing UK-based statistics, Yulia reveals that a mere 2% of ICT startup resources are mobilised towards initiatives led by women, accentuating the gender divide in the tech landscape.

Yulia proposes a two-tiered solution to these issues. The first factor involves widespread implementation of meta-data analysis. With its innate capacity to comprehensively understand user behaviour, data tracking processes should be employed to identify and mitigate users’ negative experiences online. Moreover, she urges third sector organisations to strategically align their initiatives with young individuals’ interests, thereby fostering inclusivity within the IT sector.

Correlating her arguments to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Yulia’s discourse aligns with SDGs 5, 9, 10, 16, and 17. These goals strive towards promoting gender equality, fostering inclusive industries and innovation, reducing social and economic inequalities, nurturing peace, justice and robust institutions and facilitating effective cross-sector partnerships, respectively. Her comprehensive analysis provides an insightful framework for comprehending an evolving issue that intersects human rights in digital spaces, deconstructing intricate yet crucial arguments pertaining to inclusivity and diversity in the digital era.

Camilio Rattia:
Good afternoon, everyone. We are going to start this panel. It’s called Human Rights in the Digital Age, from My Gender Persuaded. I am Camilo Rattia. I’m from Bolivia, and I work for Fundación Internet Bolivia. We’ll be moderating this session. And also we have people online. Karen Cruz is also online. She will be the online moderator, so she’s there. I’m going to give you now some minutes for the panel to introduce themselves, please. So I’m going to start with the people who is here on site. So Yulia, please.

Yulia:
Testing. Okay. Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. My name is Yulia. I am from Brazil. I am a youth delegate. Another 14 youth members from Brazil. I have been invited in a way of schedule in the last minutes. But I study, currently I study the gamification of hate in Brazil, internet connection, and international internet relations, social relations, that is. And my association is from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. And I’m really happy to be here, since it’s such an important aspect to discuss in the internet forums. And I will pass the mic to Ananda.

Ananda:
Ananda, please. Thank you so much. Hello, everyone. My name is Ananda. I’m from Nepal. It’s a small developing country in Asia. And I’m so honored to join you here. I’ll be talking about the perspective in both online and offline world. I’ll be talking about digital divide, as well as how it has reflected the offline world, the gender gap. So thank you for having me.

Camilio Rattia:
Thank you. So first, we have online two people. Please introduce yourselves. Umut first, please. Umut. OK. So we can go to Mariana Lopez, please, also. Could you confirm me, please? OK. They are going in. They need co-host access, please, Karen. So they can actually be on camera, please. Let’s wait a minute. OK. There it is. So Mariana, can we start with you, please?

Mariana:
Of course. Hello, everyone. Greetings from Mexico. It is a great honor for me to be in this panel discussing such an important topic. And I work in an organization that’s called Redes Hace. It’s a Mexican organization that works with indigenous communications. And I am very thrilled to be here. I was in the Youth Like IGF in Cartagena this year. So it is so important to continue these discussions surrounding gender and access. So thank you very much for the invitation. And I’m very glad to be here.

Camilio Rattia:
Thank you. And also, could you please give access to Umut, who also needs access to be on the camera? OK. OK. OK. Thank you. OK. Umut, please. Umut, please. Your mic is off. Now it’s… Yeah, but we can’t hear you. Yeah, but we can’t hear you.

Umut Pajaro:
Now you can hear me?

Camilio Rattia:
Yes. Please.

Umut Pajaro:
I see. OK. Perfect. Hello. My name is Umut Pajaro Velazquez. I’m from Cartagena, Colombia. And I’m speaking from Colombia right now. And I’m here representing the Gender Standing Group and the chair of the group in Internet Society. And I will be sharing with you some visions about how gender is affected by, in general, the digital divide and how the gender gap is actually part of the beings of the human rights on Internet in general.

Camilio Rattia:
OK. Thank you. Thank you, Umut. Thank you, Mariana. Thank you, Julia and Ananda that are here. So we are going to now address some questions. And I know each of you know which one is going to address. So I’ll just go with the first question. And the first question is, can gender be considered as a factor causing inequality? And when we talk about digital rights and the Internet.

Umut Pajaro:
And that question is for me. So yeah, I’m going to reply really fast. Well, the obvious answer to it is like, yes, gender can be considered as a factor causing inequality when we talk about digital rights on the Internet. And this is because actually how society is constructed and how gender roles are defined because of the biology of certain individuals. So some are privileged than others. And that causes a gap between the genders. In this case, we’re talking about a digital gender gap. And it reflects the difference between men, women, and gender diverse people in terms of access and use of the information and communication technologies. And I would like to address four different gender gaps, digital gender gaps, that actually are evident when we talk about this inequality between genders. One is access. This happens especially more in the global south context when we see that not only women but also gender diverse people are less likely than men to have access to Internet and to own a phone and smartphone. This is particularly true, as I say, in the global south countries. And a more marginalized group of women are gender diverse people, such as those living in rural areas or have other intersectional characteristics such as race or some disability. Another one is skill. Women are less likely than men to have women and gender diverse people are less likely than men to have the digital skills needed to use the Internet effectively and to empower them and to be more active inside of the Internet spaces. This can be included in basic skills, such as how to use a computer or browse the Internet and on to some more advanced skills, such as coding and programming. And we see that in so many informs and reports that came from different NGOs and intergovernmental organizations that says that actually the tech fields are actually with more presence on men than women and gender diverse people, and that’s causing inequality. The third one, women and gender diverse people are more likely to use the Internet for education and social networking, and men actually use it more for working and more related Internet things like gaming and entertaining. These different uses of the Internet also cause a gap between the genders. And the last one that I would like to address is safety. Women and gender diverse people are more likely to experience online violence and harassment when we actually start to talk about the risks on Internet, we need to take into account the gender variable, because for us in general society, people that are women or gender diverse actually are more exposed to risks in the online spaces. This includes cyber bullying, sexual harassment, stalking, and other kinds of risks that people just for being women and gender diverse experience online. So, actually, not anything is wrong between that. So, if we want actually to solve this, we need to address some issues that can get us to a point that not only the inequalities can be solved, or getting to a point that men, women, and gender diverse people can access in a more equal way. One of the solutions is to expand access to ICTs for all women, girls, and gender diverse people. And so, promote gender inclusivity, that includes women-led initiatives, because right now, only 35% of the initiatives are led by women and gender diverse people, and address online violence against women, girls, and gender diverse people. And to finalize my intervention, I would like to give some recommendations for a more equal and diverse Internet in terms of digital rights from a gender perspective. One is to require two social media platforms to take down harmful content, social health policies, misogyny, and reverse porn in a timely manner, in an appropriate manner. Develop and implement gender-sensitive privacy policies and data protection laws. Support organizations that are working to promote digital rights for women, girls, and gender diverse people. Encourage more women, girls, and gender diverse people to pursue careers in the science, in the fields. And so, challenge gender stereotypes about technology use and online participation. This means to change the way we see that technologies can be used for women, girls, and gender diverse people.

Camilio Rattia:
Thank you, Umut. I think you already mentioned some of the inequalities we can have with the gender. And also, you give some solutions. But in that sense, I would like to ask Mariana, if you can give you, from your perspective, what are the worst examples of inequality that we should immediately address in relations to gender and Internet? And also, what would be some actions to prevent this?

Mariana:
Okay. Thank you very much for the question. And also, Umut, for that brilliant participation. So, I think that one of the most important inequalities and issues is precisely not only access for women to Internet, but also how are women and sexual dissidencies shaping Internet, right? So, I think Internet access is very important for educational purposes, specifically from a gender perspective, because access to information is key in order to make relevant changes in people’s mindsets. For example, in my experience, I myself became a feminist thanks to Internet access. I started using Internet approximately when I was 11. And I can still recall and remember that shift and impact from when I was analogical to when I started to browse online. And through online tools, I was able to shape my identity, my perspective about gender issues, and my feminist approach, since they were definitely not common topics in that time in school or in any other space. And most importantly, as I grew older, it helped me to organize and meet other groups of women, girls, and sexual dissidencies, women in my territory. And this is starting to become a tendency. Everyday people are connecting from younger ages. According to Mexican Association of Internet, 60% of people that are connected in Mexico are between 6 and 34 years old. This means that from 88 millions of Mexicans that are connected, most of the population are young people. And also 52% of this population are women. Also, due to the pandemic, these numbers have increased rapidly. Children from 6 to 12 years old had to connect in a sudden way without really programs or preparation for it. And I think this is why it is so important to mediate and filter what young girls and dissidencies are accessing. And because it really shapes your mindset in such formative years. Definitely, a gender perspective is essential. Any policy must recognize this historical and systematical differences in which women are raised. It has been deeply studied how technology has not been totally accessible for women. And that has been designed from more of a male perspective. So now that we see that from these numbers, that the problem now is not access. Because younger and younger people are connected. And most of them are women. So I think the issues and the things that should be attended immediately are sure the policies and the dynamics that occur in digital space. Because they are the same that occur in real world, in the real environment. And it is also very much, sometimes these issues are more relevant or more affecting young girls. Also, I think that this really connects with what Umut was saying. According to the Mexican Institute for Competitivity, only 3 of 10 STEM professionals are women. So we are still dealing with a very large gap in Mexico from girls and women that access to this kind of preparation. In order to fulfill this gap, each state of Mexico, we are 32 states, must increase at least in 71% the number of women in their curriculum. This means more than 50% of what it is right now. This means that it would take the government 37 years to really reach an equality in the STEM careers. Because it has been increasing year to year, but only in 4.4%. So really, why are women not accessing to this kind of education? And it has been thoroughly tested that what disintegrates, why women don’t feel secure to access to this kind of preparation is violence, discrimination, and also a gender differential or based education. That is still something that is happening. So we sure must ensure access for women and sexual dissidencies, both from a feminist gender perspective and really include women in the shaping of Internet, but not only from a vision from access. Because what really is important is to see what these young girls are accessing and how are they accessing Internet from very, really young ages. And I think that they must be included, the most younger women in this discussion. Not only from a perspective of they have access for the actual necessities, but also how can they be really included in the discussions that shape Internet.

Camilio Rattia:
Okay, thank you, Mariana. I think both of you and Umut mentioned some inequalities and some actions to prevent, and also how we should fix that in some terms. But I would like to maybe hear about something from the perspective from digital rights, and that’s why we have Julia here. And I would like to address you that question. Is there any difference in access or treatment that you can give because of gender? Can you mention?

Yulia:
Excuse me. I think the question is directed to Ananda, right?

Camilio Rattia:
Sorry, I confused both of you. Sorry. Sorry, it happens sometimes. Okay, Ananda. In that case, I would like to talk more about in terms of digital rights, and I would like to know if there is any difference in access or treatment you can give because of gender. I would like to know if you can mention some ideal scenario maybe, how rights should be guaranteed.

Ananda:
Okay, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. So when it comes to digital rights, most importantly, the important is access to Internet itself. It was a huge burden, and I come from a less developed country like Nepal, and I represent APAC region. And if you see, the APAC region is the most of the Internet users live in APAC region, and at the same time, we have the highest digital divide itself. Still, 40% of the population in our region are still unconnected. And if we see the gender divide in Internet access, in terms of Asia Pacific, 54% of women are connected to the Internet while compared to 59% of men are connected to the Internet. So there is a number of like gender gap, and it is actually reflected from the offline world. Before we have Internet, women and gender minorities have always fought for their right. There was no right to education for women back then, and there was no right to vote. And then, like, it then shifted to the, like, Internet. When you get access, those rights were, again, the deprived people get to deprive in the online world as well. So right now, there’s a digital divide, and into that digital divide, there is, again, gender divide. If we see the 40% of the people who doesn’t have access, the majority is the people from the gender minorities. And if we talk about women and then other gender that are being appeared recently that were not recognized by the society. So actually, it’s about the society, how we shape it. So Internet is just a tool that let us access other rights that are actually prevalent in the society. So we have to make sure that we can use Internet so that everybody can have equal rights. Not only in the Internet, but in a society, I think. And I can come back to this with more questions, I think. Thank you.

Camilio Rattia:
Okay, thank you, Ananda. Oh, now he’s right. In those words, Julia, now maybe you can give us some recommendations for more, like Ananda mentioned, like more equality and diverse Internet in terms of digital rights.

Yulia:
So I would like to make some remarks before I start any recommendation. I guess we have agreements on gender issues, the precedence of offline matters, and an age perspective that we have like rivers flow to a common response. That these problems, these problematics are probably the first and the most pressing matters that what I can gather from this meeting. And thinking on that, I would like to draw to my educational upbringing in my college degree about thinking the offline as a necessity or a problem to tackle through the society as a multi-stakeholder problem, thinking that not only the government should offer more opportunities or should establish a better connection or quality connection to disconnected areas and so on, but what are we doing as a society, as enterprises, as companies and governments to captivate, to grow empathy and fondness on gender diverse and women, to enroll, to close the gap that we have of dissociation of what is the Internet, of what are the matters of the Internet, or what is a career or a work or a research on the Internet matters. From my perspective in Brazil, I think that the most topics that drawn the youth to science, but especially the Internet and IT world is science fiction and games. And there is a point to be made in gaming culture and in gaming communities that are left unattended and they are left to be developed by company as they wish, and to also not care about problems that exclude a type of gender, like a company can develop the game in the community to better accommodate her male audience, her male young audience. And that’s also like an allowance to just not tackle problems like a community health, because we have PR, we have marketing, and they also have the power to, like in games, League of Legends, they have records, they have data enough to affirm categorically that a player is tired, a player has certain behavior, he has certain tactics and so on. We know, and everyone in this room knows, how can we trace the human personality so deeply, yet why are we not using that information to trace their bad experiences? Why are we choosing to tackle the problems of violences and why they don’t feel interest in participating in a game, or why do they feel the interest in participating in the gaming community, in that community, but even if that community is not healthy or is not welcoming to them? Because there are lots, in Brazil we have some researches about how racism, how sexual violence, virtual sexual violence and assault or sexist attacks don’t throw away or don’t distance the public, or I mean the racially attacked public or the women. They still are part of the, they still want to be part of the community, they stay there, they go on, they move through and they power through, in fact, and still facing those attacks. And it’s not a matter of regulation, I don’t think that’s the point of regulation. It’s about getting to know better what we are doing with the youth, what we are letting them to experience, and how can we change that? Because the point is that I think that we observe that even though those attacks may distance some, the ones that stay are just hurt, they are damaged and that may not have the positive, that surely doesn’t have the positive connection of that empathy and the fondness for IT talks, IT matters, IT themes and also internet themes and so on. We are pushing them away although they are there. They are consuming, they are not moving up on the ladder. Like they are not developing their path in a way that we see the male audience and the white audience developing in IT especially, but also in communication, on the communications matters and communications themes. So we can think as a society, what can I do, me, the third sector, what can I do? I can maybe employ better activities or research and what has the intention of this youth? What can we develop to bring the attention of this youth, to bring the love of this youth to the connected world, the internet world and the gaming world? And as companies, maybe they can start to think and elaborate projects to think of the health in their community, and not moderating the community. You can’t say certain words, and we will stop by there. How our communities see us, and how do they view this community? People have opinions about different internet communities, like the Reddit, the Discord, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Dota. They all have their opinions about that communities, and those communities are millions of people. And what do they think about it, and how companies can they change? They should be worrying about that, like to build a better environment. And the government obviously can induce that development to steer that interest, and to develop economical interest in tackling those problems. But we’re still not seeing that, since this is today’s news. The UK, it’s one of the most connected countries more than we, more than countries of we, the speakers, because we are from Latin America and Asia. They’re way more connected than us. And yet, 2% of the resources of ICT startups are destined to women-led startups. And the rest of the 98% of those resources are destined to male-led audiences. So there is, again, another problem, another suggestion of governments. Are we directing better resources to which type of audiences? Sorry, not audiences, in this way, which type of demographics? And I think that’s my say. I maybe overstepped the time a little.

Camilio Rattia:
No, it’s OK, it’s OK. Thank you, Julia. I think you four mentioned many different kinds of inequalities from different perspectives. I like that they were like, I don’t know if the audience know, but Umut is from Colombia, Mariana is from Mexico, Julia from Brazil, and as Ananda said, he’s from Nepal. So it’s like they have different perspectives, different vision. They live in different continents. But the inequalities they mentioned, they are basically the same. So in that case, I think I would like to address one question, maybe for the panelists, if any of you want to address one of them. Why do you think it’s important, these kind of events like IGF, that you are here, you are giving us your perspective? We have basically the same inequalities. We address basically the same problems. And it’s been the same over the years. And at some point, it shows that maybe it’s improving. But then when I heard you, then I see that it’s the same problem like last year, like two years ago, three years ago. So why do you think it’s important to keep talking about this in these kind of events? I don’t know if some of you want to address that. Any of you?

Umut Pajaro:
Well, I’ve kind of been here. And you were saying the answer to it when you were making the question. We continue to experience that every year. So we need to keep discussing the topic until the things are better. Because if we don’t use these spaces to say these kind of things, what kind of spaces we are going to use? So yeah, pretty much you were saying in the question exactly the answer to it, until the things are better, not only for women, girls, but also for gender-diverse people. We need to continue advocating, continue asking to private sector, to governments, to do something to improve and eliminate this gender gap that we have.

Camilio Rattia:
OK, thank you, Umut. We don’t really have questions from the online participation. I don’t know if any of the public here wants to address some question or just talk about this gender gap on internet. OK, if there is no one. I don’t know if some of the speakers want to do some final remarks about the topic. Just very brief, please. No one? Julia, Ananda, Mariana, perhaps? Thank you, Mariana.

Mariana:
Yes, of course. Thank you. Well, answering a little bit the question that was just made, I think that using these spaces, even if we are talking about the same topics and maybe it replicates, it means that we care about it, right? And I think that younger women and also younger descendancies are hearing us and seeing that these topics are placed over here, it means that we care and that we are actively searching for it. Also, I think that not everything is lost, at least in Mexico and precisely in Puebla, that is where I live. I have been seeing a very important shift in how feminist organizations are working, right? There is a very proliferant movement, especially from younger trans women, also younger women, that are organizing through internet and through discussions that occur in different social media. And they gather up in real life. They are meeting in these online spaces and are able to make political movements that transcend the digital space. So even though I think that, yeah, we do maintain the same problems from various years, but I also think that things are changing. At least that is what is happening in a lot of territories. So I think that shaping internet is important, including the younger voices, because the relevancy for me is what happens offline, like the opportunity that young girls and young descendancies have to connect to shape mindsets about these important topics and make changes in real life to gather and to activate. And also giving them these first opportunities of political shaping, of political gathering, I think that is very, very powerful. And that is why I very much appreciate these kind of spaces to include voices from younger women from different places of the world and for people to hear about it, right? So yeah, I think that is the importance to keep talking about these issues.

Camilio Rattia:
OK, thank you, Mariana. And Ananda, please.

Ananda:
Thank you so much. So I would like to reflect in my previous talk, I talked about how offline world actually reflected on the online. And now what I wanted to focus as a closing remarks is, as we move towards emerging technologies, we are actually using machine learning and AI. 2022 was a year when AI actually got so much famous with the generative AI tools like Charity, Google, BARD. And we can see how gender bias are actually being reflected on emerging technologies. And there is a collective action needed so that those traits that were seen in offline world are not reflected again in terms of emerging technologies. Again, there is another thing. When it comes to misinformation, disinformation, targeted attacks in terms of defamation, it’s actually women politicians, actors, and gender minorities that are being attacked. They are being targeted for. And how do we actually leverage emerging technologies to actually eliminate those kind of things? And internet, I see it as a tool or a catalyst that can be used to actually eliminate, in terms of both capacity building of women and other gender minorities, again, to actually eliminate this kind of misinformation, targeted attacks. That’s it. Thank you. I think it calls for collaborative things, and maybe digital literacy kind of things, including these kind of things in school curriculum. We have to start from root. So I call for the collaborative multi-stakeholder approach so that we can eliminate these things. Thank you.

Camilio Rattia:
OK. Thank you, Ananda. Julia, any final remarks? OK. So yes, I will keep with that about the collaboration. And I would like to mention that even if it’s the day zero where everybody’s tired, and everybody’s here with the jet lag, and all the sessions are not fully booked, I think it’s very important these spaces where we can talk. We are actually in a yacht debate now. We have the day zero to talk, but at least we have this space. And I would like to mention that. And I think it’s very important to talk about the gender gap, the digital inclusion. And I think it’s very important to remark that even if we don’t have many audience, or even if we don’t have maybe more time, or even if we don’t have all the funding to everyone to come here, you heard. We have different experiences all the continent. And we try to do an effort to be this collaborative, as Ananda said. And that’s why we are people from different parts of the world, and yacht especially. So thank you so much. Thank you to be here, and just keep talking about this gender gap in internet. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Audience:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.