Gender Advisory Board to the UN Commission on Science and Development (CSTD)
The Gender Advisory Board (GAB) of the UN Commission on Science, Technology and Development (CSTD) serves as a critical mechanism to ensure gender equality is central to technological advancement and digital transformation worldwide. As Co-Chair of the Gender Advisory Board, our Women at the Table CEO leads efforts to integrate gender-responsive approaches across all aspects of science, technology, and innovation policy. Our work focuses on addressing the persistent gender digital divide, which remains a significant barrier to inclusive development despite two decades of commitment through the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) framework.
At the Twenty-eighth session of the CSTD in Geneva (April 7-11, 2025), the Gender Advisory Board made several key interventions. We advocated for gender-responsive technology foresight and assessment methodologies, highlighting how community-based assessment protocols and gender-disaggregated baseline studies have delivered measurable impacts in developing economies. Additionally, we called for a dual approach to strengthen WSIS implementation: systematic gender mainstreaming across existing Action Lines and the establishment of a dedicated Gender Action Line with concrete mandates and resources. The evidence clearly demonstrates that this approach is not merely about equality but represents an essential pathway to unleash innovation, drive economic growth, and achieve sustainable development goals, particularly in developing regions.
Women at the Table made two official submissions to the CSTD:
- Gender-Responsive Technology Foresight and Assessment: A Human Rights-Based Approach for Sustainable Development
- Gender-Responsive Digital Transformation: Submission for WSIS+20 Review
As Co-Chair of the Gender Advisory Board, we made the following statements to the CSTD: