CITAD commends NCC’s women leadership drive, urges gender reforms across ICT sector
Kola Oyelere Kano
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its initiative to promote women’s leadership in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, describing it as a significant step toward addressing gender disparities in digital governance.
In a statement signed by its Gender Coordinator, Fatima Babakura,
a copy made available to press in Kano
CITAD said the initiative aligns with longstanding advocacy for greater inclusion of women in digital policy-making and leadership positions across the country’s ICT ecosystem.
The organisation noted that in 2023 it implemented the Incubating Young Female Digital Policy Leaders for Engendering Digital Policy Making in Nigeria project to tackle the underrepresentation of women in digital policy formulation and governance.
According to CITAD, the project equipped young women with skills in digital policy analysis, internet governance, telecommunications policy, digital rights, cybersecurity, data governance, artificial intelligence and digital inclusion to enable them to participate effectively in shaping Nigeria’s digital future.
The organisation also highlighted findings from its research titled “A Head Count on Women Participation in Digital Policy Making in ICT Related Agencies in Nigeria,” which revealed that women occupy only a small proportion of leadership positions in key ICT institutions responsible for driving Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
It said the study showed that the gender digital divide extends beyond access to technology, pointing out that women also remain underrepresented in spaces where digital policies are formulated, negotiated and implemented.
CITAD warned that inadequate representation of women in decision-making could result in policies that fail to reflect the experiences and needs of a significant segment of the population.
To address the challenge, the organisation said it developed a policy brief recommending a national gender digital inclusion agenda, increased female representation on ICT agency boards and management teams, leadership development programmes, institutional gender policies, regular gender audits, gender-responsive workplace policies and stronger accountability mechanisms.
While describing the NCC’s initiative as consistent with Nigeria’s National Gender Policy, National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5 on gender equality, CITAD stressed that leadership development programmes alone would not be sufficient.
It called for institutional reforms that remove barriers preventing qualified women from advancing into leadership positions, arguing that capacity building should be complemented by systems that promote equal opportunities.
The organisation further urged the NCC to embed gender inclusion into its recruitment processes, governance structures, institutional policies and leadership development frameworks.
CITAD also called on other ICT institutions, including the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Galaxy Backbone, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, to adopt similar initiatives and implement broader reforms to ensure equitable representation.
The organisation maintained that women’s participation in leadership is essential to developing inclusive policies on digital access, online safety, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data governance and digital rights.
It urged policymakers, regulators, development partners and private sector organisations to move beyond commitments by adopting measurable targets for women’s participation in digital governance, backed by regular monitoring, transparent reporting and institutional accountability.
CITAD reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with government agencies, civil society organisations, academia, development partners and the private sector to promote evidence-based and gender-responsive digital governance in Nigeria.