E/2003/27 E/CN.6/2003/12 it imperative to support the production of local content in local languages. Organizations that produced such local content aimed at the empowerment of women especially deserved assistance. Participants also called for research on women’s information needs. 8. Many participants emphasized the importance and continuing usefulness of “old”, traditional media and technologies, especially those that were not text-based, as tools for the empowerment of women. Women’s initiatives in the area of community, traditional and alternative media should be recognized, supported and strengthened. Community radio was cited as an example and as a vital link for disseminating local information to communities not sufficiently served by other national media. Radio in particular was a means for poor women, especially in rural areas, to obtain information and to increase knowledge, and was considered by some to be a more useful tool than other technologies, especially in the short term. 9. Participants were concerned that little progress had been made in improving the trend of women’s employment in the media, especially at the decision-making level. Issues such as high attrition rates of women in media professions worldwide required a range of measures, including the setting of goals and targets and the adoption of gender-sensitive policies in human resources management. The information society offered many new economic opportunities for women, but women had to overcome numerous barriers to take advantage of them. Unfavourable established patterns of women’s employment were already being replicated in the field of ICT, where women were increasingly found in low-paying jobs. Participants called for measures to promote women’s economic participation in the information society. Greater numbers of women and girls in science and technology were a critical prerequisite for ensuring that women not only acquired access to ICT, but also gained more control over such technologies and their production. 10. The changing environment in the global media and communication systems and the rapid developments in the ICT sector increased the urgency to integrate gender perspectives into legislation, policies and regulatory frameworks related to those sectors. So far, most national ICT policies, plans and programmes paid no attention to gender perspectives and were silent on women’s priorities and needs. Gender analysis had to be undertaken at all stages of policy and programme development, from their initial design to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Political will and leadership had been decisive in a number of countries to strengthen attention to gender perspectives in national ICT policies. An increase in financial resources was needed to improve infrastructure and increase women’s access to ICT. 11. Participants called for the collection of data disaggregated by sex on the use of and access to ICT and the media in order to create a solid basis for informed policymaking. Apart from quantitative data, qualitative gender-specific indicators on various aspects of ICT use, access and dissemination, as well as on women’s information needs, had to be compiled so that targeted responses could be developed. The establishment of measurable targets and benchmarks for gender equality in ICT was also recommended. 12. The work of the Economic and Social Council had been instrumental in putting ICT for development on the agenda of the United Nations. This work was of an inclusive and participatory nature that involved the contribution of all stakeholder groups. The United Nations ICT Task Force was based on a multi-stakeholder 49