UN Elects First Female Tech Agency Secretary-General (bbc.com) 32
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Doreen Bogdan-Martin has become the first woman to be elected as secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU is the main technology agency within the UN. Originally founded in 1865 to manage the first international telegraph networks, the ITU now has an important role in facilitating the use of radio, satellite and the internet. Ms Bogdan-Martin beat her Russian rival Rashid Ismailov by 139 votes to 25. The American will succeed Houlin Zhao, who has been in the role since 2014, when her term begins on January 1, 2023. She will be taking the reins of the oldest UN agency, which is responsible for many facets of international communications. These include assigning satellite orbits globally, co-ordinating technical standards, and improving infrastructure in the developing world. There had been concerns ahead of the election because Ms Bogdan-Martin's opponent had previously called for international regulation of the internet.
In her previous role as director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development bureau, Ms Bogdan-Martin's remit included job creation, digital skills development, diversity, and gender equality. Her candidacy for the top job was endorsed by US President Joe Biden, who said she had the "integrity, experience, and vision necessary to transform the digital landscape." "She understands the importance of connecting every school to the internet and making sure every student can access virtual learning, providing women and girls the digital tools they need to succeed, and extending the benefits of online health and educational resources," he said in a statement. "Whether it's today's children or our children's children, we need to provide them with a strong and stable foundation for growth," Ms Bogdan-Martin said following her win. "The world is facing significant challenges -- escalating conflicts, a climate crisis, food security, gender inequalities, and 2.7 billion people with no access to the internet."
In her previous role as director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development bureau, Ms Bogdan-Martin's remit included job creation, digital skills development, diversity, and gender equality. Her candidacy for the top job was endorsed by US President Joe Biden, who said she had the "integrity, experience, and vision necessary to transform the digital landscape." "She understands the importance of connecting every school to the internet and making sure every student can access virtual learning, providing women and girls the digital tools they need to succeed, and extending the benefits of online health and educational resources," he said in a statement. "Whether it's today's children or our children's children, we need to provide them with a strong and stable foundation for growth," Ms Bogdan-Martin said following her win. "The world is facing significant challenges -- escalating conflicts, a climate crisis, food security, gender inequalities, and 2.7 billion people with no access to the internet."
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Why is it unusual for a woman to do something?
I'm pretty sure that if we were to look at her CV, she probably has a list of qualifications even if it was purely ladder climbing. But I would assume that the very least of her personal accomplishments which made her a suitable candidate for the job would be that she was in fact a she. That's not even an accomplishment, it's just a matt
Re: Oh look, sexism. (Score:2)
Identitarians always view things through the lens of identity. In much the way a racist sees a black criminal, not just a criminal, a women who achieves anything is to feminists first and foremost a women.
It's sad the way personal ability and achievements get swept aside when a woman's accomplishments are needed in service of 'the message'. Women who buck the feminist narrative, perhaps by refusing to become a token, are at best ignored. In the worst cases they are attacked as traitors to the cause, their w
Re: (Score:2)
The reason it's noteworthy is that it's 2022 and institutions like this are still mostly men. Same with the next Moon mission. When the Apollo programme was running, it was literally impossible for women to join it. No matter how good they were, they could not become astronauts.
It's actually an interesting bit of history. Valentina Tereshkova reached orbit in 1963, the first woman to do so. For various reasons the US decided not to try to equal the USSR by sending an American woman into space. The USSR also
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Accepting equality is one thing. Actually seeing it achieved in the real world is quite another. You can't just say "okay no more sexism" and it goes away.
Re: (Score:2)
Remember there are a lot of us that accepted equality decades ago...
if there are so many of you please explain the current social climate.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah.. (Score:2)
What do you suppose the Female Tech Agency does? (Score:1)
I recognize that I'm being difficult, but that was the first thing I thought of when I read the headline.
Re: What do you suppose the Female Tech Agency doe (Score:2, Funny)
A great cost saving arose in the form a program that's automatically add the phrases 'women and girls', along with the word 'diverse' to documents. For the average UN blog post, this saved around 30% of time in writing it.
For more scholarly work the program can also automatically add references to Buzzfeed and The Handmaid's Tale.
Here to watch the misogynists (Score:2, Insightful)
A++. Fun to watch the misogynists suffer meltdowns like sissy little bitches. It's ok, you can run to mommy.
Yes, very useful (Score:2)
The sane ITU that formed The Broadband Commission that went on to proudly trumpeted their report on 'cyber violence': https://www.unwomen.org/en/new... [unwomen.org]
A report that was immediately criticised, for good reason. Many references were paths to files on the author's computer. References that were there read more like an essay by Jack Thompson than scholarly work.
https://edri.org/our-work/un-w... [edri.org]
https://www.techdirt.com/2015/... [techdirt.com]
The report was swiftly withdrawn, a promise made to reissue it. Instead they quietly f
Best candidate (Score:2)
Fun! (Score:2)
Re: Fun! (Score:2)
Feminists have been doing that for decades. We are not short on examples of feminists citing sex as the salient factor, much the way the Austrian painter saw Jewry before any other individual characteristic or achievement.
Men generally don't see themselves as a collective based on sex.
Just female? (Score:2)
Just being female won't get you points any more. Now you at least have to be gay, and it's useful to also be black and an immigrant.