CITAD, NIGF Advocate for Enhanced Women’s Leadership and Visibility in Digital Governance
By Mustapha Salisu
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), in collaboration with the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF), has called for stronger inclusion, leadership, and visibility of women in digital governance at local, national, and global levels.
The call was made during the Women Internet Governance Forum 2025 (WIGF25), held virtually on November 25, 2025, with the theme “From Vision to Visibility: Advancing Women’s Leadership in Digital Governance.”
The forum, chaired by Madam Mary Uduma, Chair of the West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF), featured a keynote address by Professor Nafisat Afolake Adedokun-Shittu, who emphasized the importance of context-driven digital solutions, local innovation, and equitable representation of women in policymaking spaces both within Nigeria and internationally. A technical session also explored feminist perspectives on digital policy, safety, privacy, and online inclusion.
The event aimed to promote women’s leadership, strengthen partnerships across government, civil society, academia, and the private sector, and generate actionable recommendations to bridge gender gaps in digital access, internet governance, and technology policy.
Participants at the forum observed that women remain significantly underrepresented in ICT and digital governance leadership despite their growing contributions to innovation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
They noted that structural and cultural barriers such as stereotypes, socio-cultural constraints, limited digital access, and online gender-based violence continue to impede women’s meaningful participation.
According to a communiqué issued to PRIME TIME NEWS, also highlighted the low visibility of Nigerian women in global digital policy spaces like WSIS+20, ITU, and ICANN, as well as weak localization of digital knowledge due to overreliance on foreign-driven solutions rather than indigenous innovation.
Additionally, concerns were raised over the growing digital threat landscape that includes misinformation, cyber harassment, and algorithmic bias, alongside poor internet connectivity that limits women’s access to opportunities in digital governance and learning.
The forum resolved to strengthen women’s leadership and representation in digital governance institutions, expand capacity-building programs for women and girls, and integrate gender perspectives into ICT and AI policies by relevant agencies such as NCC, NITDA, NDPC, and the Ministry of Communications.
It also emphasized the need to promote local innovation and context-based learning in universities and research institutions, enhance collaboration among stakeholders to improve digital rights frameworks and online safety, and address poor network quality, high data costs, and unreliable broadband infrastructure that hinder women’s participation.
The communiqué further urged the government, academia, innovation hubs, and civil society organizations to ensure gender balance and diversity in all digital governance processes, invest in localized digital infrastructure and indigenous innovation, and protect civic and digital spaces to ensure women can engage freely and safely.
It also called for the strengthening of educational and innovation pipelines that connect young women to digital career opportunities and creative learning environments.
In conclusion, the Women Internet Governance Forum 2025 reaffirmed that women’s leadership is vital to achieving an inclusive, secure, and innovative digital future for Nigeria.
The forum called for collective action to dismantle structural barriers, enhance women’s visibility, and promote gender-responsive digital governance that reflects the voices and realities of Nigerian women.
