Gender

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Missouri’s Digital Equity plan. Using $827,338.00 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, Missouri created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Vermont’s Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Ohio’s Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.

In today's digital world, access to technology and the Internet enables boundless opportunities.  Now more than ever, women and girls are seizing these opportunities to smash barriers and soar to new heights. For women and girls, achieving digital equity is more than gaining access to the devices and connectivity that empower them—it is also about safeguarding their journey. As we celebrate International Women's Day, here are three reasons why digital equity is a game-changer for women and girls’ empowerment.  

In a globalised world where the internet transformed our earth into a small village, the global South is left lagging. Internet accessibility remains a major hurdle facing a large proportion of people in the global South. The situation in Sudan is no exception. In the light of the economic instability, political turmoil and the United States-led economic sanctions imposed on Sudan, internet accessibility and making beneficial use of the internet are a real challenge, especially for women. This research explores the barriers to women’s access to and use of the internet in Sudan.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) and the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum (WWLF) announced the launch of Telecom Trailblazers, an initiative to encourage STEM learning, teach young women about digital infrastructure and inspire them to pursue careers in telecommunications. Telecom Trailblazers’ programming will be carried out in partnership with IGNITE Worldwide, a non-profit dedicated to achieving gender equity in STEM by connecting girls with STEM opportunities during the school day.

Working parents in rural and urban America struggle daily to ensure they have adequate care for their little ones and certainly safe care at an affordable price. Here at NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, we have spent countless hours talking about workforce issues that impact broadband deployment in rural America. During our annual Women in Telecom Fly-In to Washington, D.C.,  the discussion turned to what could be done to encourage more women to enter the rural broadband space as an attractive career path.

The purpose of the Arkansas Digital Skills and Opportunity Plan is to outline an actionable path forward to make digital opportunity an economic benefit and reality for all Arkansans. This plan will position the state’s residents to pursue cross-sectoral economic growth through broadband-related, nondeployment activities and enhance workforce development. The draft plan is open for public comment until January 25, 2024. ARConnect has a detailed vision for achieving digital opportunity in Arkansas: 

Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) announced that the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services’ Commission for Educational Technology has released “Connecticut: Everyone Connected,” the state’s draft digital equity plan. This release begins a 30-day public comment period, which will end on January 20, 2024. The commission will consider all feedback and make revisions to the plan before finalizing it by the end of March 2024.

This report presents the main findings from the 2023 Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption Survey.