Placing gender equality at the heart of the Global Digital Compact: Taking forward the recommendations of the sixty seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women

In 2024, the negotiation of the Global Digital Compact offers a unique opportunity to build political momentum and place gender perspectives on digital technology at the core of a new digital governance framework. This paper, prepared by UN Women in collaboration with the Action Coalition on Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality, aims to help governments, policymakers, multilateral organizations, the private sector, and civil society build consensus around a gender-transformative framework to advance women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment in the digital age.

This paper suggests a dual track approach:

1. The inclusion of a stand-alone goal on gender equality that elevates three fundamental topics to be prioritized in every dimension of the GDC:
   • freedom from technology-facilitated gender-based violence and discrimination;
   • equitable educational and economic opportunities; and
   • equal voice, leadership, and participation.
2. The robust mainstreaming of gender considerations across all parts of the framework.

These ideas are not new; they build on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development structure where Member States chose to mainstream gender perspectives across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but also made the decision to have SDG5 as a stand-alone focus on gender equality. Prioritizing gender perspectives and intersectional approaches in digital cooperation has the potential to trigger transformations that set countries on paths to an equal and inclusive digital future for all, not just women and girls.