The Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA) has signed a cooperation agreement to implement the initiative “Women’s Leadership in the Public Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector” (WLICT). This strategic action aims to address significant gender gaps in the digital transformation process by promoting inclusive policies and strengthening women’s roles in leadership positions within the ICT sector.
The initiative is part of the EU Action Document “Multilateralism and Digitalization II.” With a total budget of €15.1 million, the project focuses on strengthening digital capacities and promoting digital literacy for women and girls worldwide.
The initiative will be implemented by a consortium of six EU member state agencies: Expertise France (France) – Lead organization, CFCA (Latvia), ENABEL (Belgium), Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) (Estonia), FIAP (Spain), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) (Germany).
Main Objectives
- Strengthen the capacity of public sector leaders to design digital transformation policies with a gender perspective.
Enhance the capacities of policymakers—particularly women—to develop and implement gender-sensitive or gender-responsive digital policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks that align with principles of equality, justice, and security. Policymakers are defined as professionals in mid- to senior-level roles across the public sector, private sector, and civil society.
- Expand STEM education opportunities for young women.
Increasing women’s participation in STEM requires interventions at multiple levels: early encouragement and exposure, structured guidance and support, facilitated access to education and careers, and the development of sustainable support networks. By addressing these interconnected elements simultaneously, the initiative aims to create an ecosystem that supports women and girls throughout their STEM journey.
- Create a safer digital environment by combating technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
The action seeks to engage public policymakers and civil society organizations in jointly developing policy initiatives to prevent, regulate, and protect women against all forms of technology-facilitated violence (ensuring an enabling legal environment). It also aims to involve technology companies and internet regulators to facilitate the enforcement of legislation addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
The initiative covers 16 priority countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, aiming to reduce the gender digital divide and ensure that digital transformation is inclusive, fair, and responsive to the diverse needs of society.
As Latvia’s development cooperation agency, CFCA has signed an agreement with the European Commission to implement the WLICT initiative, reinforcing the EU’s and Latvia’s commitment to promoting gender equality and digital inclusion.