Towards Greater Gender Equality in the Technical Community

This March 8^th, LACNIC celebrates International Women’s Day and accompanies women professionals who are part of the regional community in furthering their involvement and leadership in the Internet ecosystem.

Diversity enriches debates, decision making and cohesion. For this reason, LACNIC is committed to contributing to gender equality by facilitating the full participation of all members of its community on equal terms.

Based on research led by LACNIC’s Development and Cooperation Department, the organization has designed a series of initiatives to promote the involvement and leadership of women, especially within LACNIC events.

IT Women was updated with a focus on promoting the leadership and networking of women in our region’s technical spaces. During this process, special emphasis was placed on the integration of men interested in understanding the issues and contributing to the promotion of gender equality among the regional technical community from their different roles. We invite anyone interested in supporting this process to join the IT Women mailing list and to participate in the face-to-face meetings held during the organization’s annual events, such as the coaching workshop organized during LACNIC 32 and the upcoming workshop that will be held in Cali, Colombia, within the framework of LACNIC 33.

In addition, in 2019, LACNIC implemented, for the first time, childcare services during its annual events, an experience that will be replicated in 2020 during LACNIC 34. This initiative is aimed at both men and women who are part of the community, and its purpose is to encourage the participation of community members with young children and to help participants coordinate their work and care responsibilities.

Finally, the LACNIC Community Code of Conduct was launched in late 2019. This guide applies to the organization’s community participation spaces and seeks to strengthen the relationships within the LACNIC community through the promotion of positive behaviors. In the long term, it is expected to contribute to generating inclusive and safe participation spaces for all members of the community.

Beyond these three initiatives, the FRIDA Program has been a key instrument for the promotion of projects geared towards gender equality in the region. As for the work conducted in direct collaboration with the technical community, it is worth noting the Center for Women in Technology which is currently leading the first pilot of #EllaEnElDesarrolloDeInternet (She in Internet Development) in Merida, Mexico.

We especially thank all the women of the community who support LACNIC in these initiatives, and we invite anyone interested in doing so to join the efforts of the organization.

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