Bridging the Gender Digital Divide

A unique for the region report, called "Bridging the Gender Digital Divide", , has just been released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is an output of the joined initiative of UNDP Bratislava Regional Center and UNIFEM Central and Eastern Europe in cooperation with Association for Progressive Communications (APC)- Women’s Networking Support Programme.

The report reviews key gender and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) initiatives implemented by UNDP. Their gender dimensions within Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are also examined as well as those of other stateholders like EU, of national governments and NGOs.

The situation of gender and ICTs in the region is mapped for the first time, pulling together all key information, identifying trends, gaps, some good practices, and offering conclusions, reccommendations and references to resources.

The authors, Lenka Simerska and Katerina Fialova, hope that their work will help initiate a discussion about women, gender, and equal opportunities of women and men in relation to ICTs. Such debate is currently in a not very advanced stage in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, according to them.