Women Contesting the 'Information Society: From the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS 2003, 2005) and beyond

This paper was presented at the Femme Globale (Berlin, 2005). It briefly traces the development of the information society from the Beijing Conference in 1995 to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003 and 2005, and women’s situated roles in this development. The engagements at WSIS point to the ground reality of the changing landscape of feminists’ involvement in UN processes– of the paradox of seemingly progressive language of multistakeholderism and partnerships coexisting with diminishing legitimacy for ethical frameworks of equality and social justice.