A Stronger Voice, a Wider Reach: Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean Take Cooperation on Women’s Digital Leadership a Step Further

During the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF-26), held from 1-4 September in Nassau, Bahamas, one message stood out: as policymakers and experts address a wide range of digital issues, bridging the gender digital divide cannot be an afterthought. It needs to be part of the policy conversation from the outset. And bridging the gender digital divide also means bridging the leadership gap.

The European Union's partnership with the International Telecommunication Union is an essential part of our cooperation to advance meaningful connectivity, digital inclusion and women's participation in the digital ecosystems.

Erja Askola, Ambassador of the European Union to Jamaica, Belize and The Bahamas

A strong signal was the Joint Declaration signed by ITU and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy, during the Forum to strengthen cooperation on women's leadership in digital policymaking and inclusive digital governance. Signed by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the ITU, and Jasmin Ellis-Jones, GIZ Regional Director to the Caribbean, the declaration lays the foundation for closer engagement between the EU-LAC Network and ITU and its Networks of Women.

By connecting the EU-LAC Network with ITU's global Networks of Women, we are building stronger leadership, fostering collaboration across regions and ensuring women play a greater role in shaping the digital policies of tomorrow.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union

European Union, 2026

Why Women Leaders in Digital Policy Matters

Around 280 million fewer women than men are online worldwide^1. This gap limits women's access to economic opportunities, education, information, public services, and the benefits of digital technologies.

But the digital gender divide is not only about access. Women also remain significantly underrepresented in the institutions and positions that shape digital policy: only around one in five information and communications technology (ICT) ministers and regulators are women^2.

This imbalance matters. When women are missing from the spaces where digital policies are designed and implemented, their experiences, priorities and expertise risk being left out of decisions that increasingly shape our everyday lives, workplaces and economies. Digital inclusion is therefore about more than connecting women to the internet. It is also about ensuring that women have a voice in deciding what connectivity, technology and digital transformation should look like. This ambition also reflects the EU's Global Gateway strategy , which supports an inclusive, people-centred digital transformation.

Digital transformation is already underway. Our task is to ensure that women are not only part of this transformation, but that they are shaping it. The Joint Declaration creates new opportunities to connect experiences, strengthen women's leadership and ensure that diverse perspectives shape the digital policies of tomorrow.

Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Managing Director, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Connecting Women Leaders Across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean

This is the ambition behind the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy and its partners.

Launched in 2024, the Network brings together women policymakers and experts from the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) around a shared goal: strengthening women's participation and leadership in the design, governance and implementation of digital policies.

Today, the Network is chaired by Ecuador, with Jamaica, supported by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), serving as Vice President. This leadership structure reflects the Network's commitment to sustained cooperation and shared ownership across the regions.

As part of the EU's Global Gateway strategy, the EU-LAC Digital Alliance supports an inclusive digital transformation, strengthening cooperation between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Under the EU-LAC Digital Alliance Policy Dialogues, co-financed by the EU and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Network has established itself as a platform under the Team Europe Initiative Women Leadership in the Public ICT Sector (WLICT), co-financed by the EU, France, Estonia, Germany, Belgium, and Latvia, supporting capacity-building activities for women and creating opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.

Building on this bi-regional foundation, the Network has also made stronger cooperation with other networks a priority. In this context, the Network signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2025 with the CTU, through its Network of Women (CTU-NoW), formalizing a shared commitment to advance gender-responsive digital policymaking. At the regional level, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has been a key partner for the Network since its establishment, contributing to the alignment with broader regional digital priorities.

From Bi-regional Network to Global Efforts

The partnership between the EU-LAC Network and ITU connects women leaders from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean with ITU's global Networks of Women, creating new opportunities to exchange experiences, bringing regional perspectives into wider debates and coordinating joint action.

As part of this partnership, the EU-LAC Network and the ITU will explore opportunities for mentorship and capacity-building, while working to increase the visibility and influence of women leaders in digital policy through joint advocacy efforts.

Networks and partnerships can turn individual good practices into shared knowledge, stronger capacities and, ultimately, scalable solutions. The EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy shows what is possible when countries and institutions come together to exchange experiences and build solutions across regions.

Jasmin Ellis-Jones, Regional Director to the Caribbean, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Turning Connections into Lasting Change

For the EU-LAC Network and its partners, the ambition goes beyond creating opportunities to connect. It is about turning those connections into lasting change.

At the WTPF-26 Network of Women Breakfast, Diana Cangás from Ecuador's Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society (MINTEL), which currently holds the Presidency of the EU-LAC Network, highlighted the importance of institutionalising commitments to women's leadership so that progress can continue beyond individual administrations. Participants also worked in small groups to identify key dimensions of the digital gender gap and priorities for future work. These insights will help shape the Network's agenda and its cooperation with the ITU.

The Joint Declaration signed in Nassau is therefore more than a new partnership. It is a step towards a digital future shaped by more voices, more perspectives and more women at the table. Because ultimately, a stronger voice has a wider reach for a more inclusive digital future.

1. ITU (2025). Facts and Figures 2025: The Gender Digital Divide. International Telecommunication Union. https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2025/10/15/ff25-the-gender-digital-divide/
2. ITU (2025). Stronger together: Why we created a global network of women digital leaders. International Telecommunication Union. https://www.itu.int/hub/2025/08/stronger-together-why-we-created-a-global-network-of-women-digital-leaders/