The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through its Executive vice chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta has disclosed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that the digital gender gap in the country is bridged.
Prof. Danbatta, who spoke at the Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs and Executives in Tech Summit (WEETS) on a theme “Reskilling Women and Girls to Thrive in the Digital Economy”, emphasized the need to promote gender equality in Nigeria.
He stated that the gender dimensions of ICT, manifest in access and use; capacity-building opportunities; employment, and potential for empowerment, and that all these dimensions need to be explicitly identified and addressed, to leverage technology and communication as powerful catalysts for political, economic, and social empowerment of women, and the promotion of gender equality.
Although in some countries the gender dimension of the digital divide has been bridged, this is not so in Nigeria where there is a huge gap between men and women.
Prof. Danbatta who was represented by NCC’s Head, Digital Media Management, Nafisa Usman Rugga, stated that one of the ways through which the NCC is committed to achieving inclusive growth, is through increased digital connectivity to all, regardless of gender and other accidental circumstances.
He also revealed that the Commission has continued to be pivotal in driving the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030; the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025; and related policies aimed at deepening connectivity for all citizens, thereby bridging digital gender disparity.
In his words; “The NCC has put on the front burner the need to expose girls and young women to more opportunities in the digital ecosystem, in line with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) resolution 70, which advocates gender mainstreaming and promotion of gender equality, as well as the empowerment of women through information and communications technology (ICT), and we are fully committed to this.”