Image: Launch of the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy during the EU-LAC Policy Dialogue on Connectivity, Santiago de Chile, November 2024

Closing the gender gap is key to closing the digital divide. Scaling up women’s digital skills and professional profiles means they will become agents of change in the digital transition. This has potential to be particularly powerful in the digitalisation of the public administration if women are encouraged and supported to take up a leadership role.

This is the goal of the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy that met virtually on 11 April for its inaugural meeting, with the presence of the Vice Minister of Telecommunications of Ecuador, Vicenta Macías and the EU Ambassador to Ecuador, Jekaterina Dorodnova. The all-women audience was made of high-level government representatives from Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. At the EU side, an inaugural event was held on 31 March during the EU Cooperation Days in Brussels, with the virtual participation of Vice Minister Vicenta Macías.

“Today we are not just launching a Network. We are launching a message. A message to our institutions, to our communities, to our young women: That women's leadership is essential for a fairer, more ethical and more inclusive digital future.” - Vicenta Macías, Vice Minister of Telecommunications of Ecuador

The Network, part of the Global Gateway Investment Agenda and the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, aims to be a formal mechanism for bi-regional cooperation that ensures the representation, participation, and collaboration of women leaders in the field of digital policy. It seeks to fully integrate gender perspectives into the design, governance, and implementation of such policies across the LAC region. The Network will promote spaces for the exchange of good practices, mentoring and networking activities, and the implementation of capacity-building programs. In this regard, it also aims to generate global synergies by leveraging opportunities for engagement and participation in international events and forums.

“The European Union remains fully committed to supporting this Network as a flagship initiative of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance—because closing the gender digital gap is not only a matter of equality, but also of innovation and inclusion.” - Jekaterina Dorodnov, EU Ambassador to Ecuador

One of the Network’s short-term objectives is to adopt a “Call for Action” in the lead-up to the next CELAC-EU Summit to be held in Santa Marta, Colombia on 9-10 November 2025.

In the current context where the gender agenda is increasingly challenged, the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy is determined and committed to power an inclusive digital transformation in LAC and the EU that would inspire the world.

Background

The EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital Policy is an initiative under the EU-LAC Digital Alliance and its ‘Meaningful Connectivity’ component. It was launched in November 2024 in Chile, during the EU-LAC High-level Policy Dialogue on Connectivity. The initiative is inspired by the Global Network of Women Digital Ministers (ITU/BMZ) and complements the European Commission’s planned global initiative, Women Leadership in the Public ICT Sector.

EU-LAC Digital Alliance

The EU-LAC Digital Alliance was launched in March 2023 in Bogota in the framework of the Global Gateway Investment Agenda and represents the political determination of the 27 Member States and 24 LAC countries to collaborate closely on key digital issues through joint initiatives, fostering a people-centered digital transformation in both regions. The Policy Dialogues represent an important pillar of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, providing a platform for structured dialogue between the two regions on priority issues for digital cooperation to enhance their strategic autonomy and economic growth.

Participating countries issued a Joint Declaration in the context of the EU-CELAC Summit in July 2023, where they committed to regular bi-regional dialogue and cooperation on digital matters for the benefit of their citizens.

Global Gateway

Global Gateway is the EU's positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.

The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions. Together, we aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027 and create essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

Follow the links below to learn more:

• EU-LAC Digital Alliance
• The EU-LAC Digital Alliance creates a strategic framework to foster substantial bi-regional cooperation across the full spectrum of digital and space issues.