The Feminist Principles for including gender in the Global Digital Compact

The Global Digital Compact (GDC) is expected to “outline shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all”. Just as international cooperation is critical to protecting the planet’s health, international collaboration and cooperation are needed to pursue the benefits of digital technologies while mitigating their risks. The GDC must be based on universal standards that adopt a human rights-based approach and must also recognise the differentiated impact that information and communications technologies (ICTs) have on women, girls and people of diverse genders and sexualities. The core principles of the GDC of openness, freedom and security must be infused with an intersectional feminist perspective to ensure that the ongoing digital transformation of our economies and societies can usher in a gender-just world that is affirming to all individuals and their path to self-actualisation.