The global community has called for a post 2015 development framework that promotes transformative change which is more integrated and that considers the ecosystem of development. Achieving a transformative post 2015 development agenda will require taking gender, ICT4D, and the integration of the two seriously. Gender equality is a central foundation of development, an objective in itself as well as a lever for broader development.  ICTs are increasingly leveraged as an innovative development tool because they promote more engaged and empowered citizens, flows of information and knowledge and provide new mechanisms for delivering critical services and meeting the 21st century challenges.  Yet the virtuous circle that can be created, through better integrating gender into ICT and ICT into gender equality and women’s empowerment, has yet to be fully realized. In order to be truly transformative in these areas means moving beyond pockets of advancement and adopting systemic, scalable solutions that promote transformative change.
Concrete recommendations for how to achieve this transformation were provided at both the Women, ICT and Development (WICTAD) International Forum and the WSIS+10 review meeting held in early 2013. These included:

• Establishing equality in women’s access to ICTs, in all its forms, by taking into account different levels of access and opportunity and the barriers women and girls face.

• Integrating gender analysis and principles in national digital and e-strategy frameworks and agendas – including their implementation and monitoring – as well as within sectoral interventions, e.g. e-health.

• Involving women as active and primary agents of change in owning, designing, using and adapting ICTs and ensuring their equal representation in decision-making positions in the public and private technology sector and doubling their representation in the work force as a whole.

• Building understanding, capacities and skills for women and girls to fully engage in the information society and to use ICTs for agency and empowerment as well as to progress in ICT careers. Promoting women’s digital literacy and access and use of educational programmes and learning environments.

• Developing content that responds to women’s needs and actively promoting women as content producers.

• Developing and collecting gender and sex-disaggregated data, and undertaking research and impact analysis on gender and ICT.

• Connecting human rights, gender and ICT frameworks, and promoting understanding of, addressing and reporting on information society issues within women’s rights frameworks and national gender strategies.

The High Level Panel will reflect on these, while addressing the critical need for scalable solutions for the integration of women and their needs and interests in the information society.