Diversity at ICANN

Background | Discussions | Resources | Programs | ICANN Organization

Background

ICANN is entrusted with ensuring the stability, resiliency, and interoperability of the Internet's unique identifier systems in an open Internet, and was founded on the belief that it should reflect the diversity of the Internet community.

To live up to this responsibility, ICANN is committed to promoting greater diversity and supporting broad, inclusive participation in its processes.

This page will be updated as more information becomes available and as ICANN progresses through the implementation of the diversity recommendations in the Cross-Community Working Group (CCWG) on Accountability Work Stream 2 (WS2) Final Report. More information about CCWG-WS2 implementation can be found here.

ICANN Community Discussions on Diversity

• Current discussions are taking place in the WS2 Community Coordination Group (CCG).
• Past community efforts on diversity were centered around the CCWG-WS2 Diversity Subgroup.

Diversity Resources

Following is a list of resources that are available to the ICANN community to assist with diversity-related activities and strategies.

• ICANN Geographic Regions

  Table of countries and territories, and corresponding ICANN geographic regions.

• Translations and Language Services at ICANN

  Language translation is essential for ICANN's global multistakeholder organization. ICANN's translations are available in the six United Nations languages – Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), English, French, Russian, and Spanish – where appropriate.

• ICANN Learn course on "Unconscious Bias"

  This course can help community members recognize unconscious bias, assess how their own backgrounds and identities may play into decision making, and emerge with tools to better manage the negative impacts of unconscious bias. Sign up for free on ICANNLearn and enroll in the course.

• Community-wide surveys onAge Diversity and Participation andGender Diversity and Participation

  The findings offer insights into perceptions of gender and age diversity in the community, potential and perceived barriers to participation, and the community's support for initiatives to enhance age and gender diversity.

• ICANN Regional Plans and Reports

  As part of the regional offices' efforts to implement the ICANN Strategic Plan, these plans and reports capture the geographic diversity of various engagement/partnership projects. They also demonstrate the diversity of community members who have either actively participated in ICANN's work or played a leading role in different Supporting Organizations or Advisory Committees.

Programs to Enhance Diversity at ICANN

ICANN is committed to fostering diversity of participation and has a number of programs already in place to support diverse, inclusive participation. For more information, visit the following links:

• NextGen@ICANN

  Through regional outreach, the NextGen@ICANN Program aims to provide the next generation of Internet users with insights into technical Internet governance and ICANN's multistakeholder model.

• Fellowship Program

  The Fellowship Program seeks to create a broader and more globally diverse base of knowledgeable constituents to build capacity within the ICANN multistakeholder model.

• ICANN Pandemic Internet Access Reimbursement Program

  This program aims to facilitate participation in ICANN Public Meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers community members who have limited Internet capacity financial assistance to increase their Internet bandwidth.

• Community Childcare Grants Pilot Program

  The Community Childcare Grants Program aims to facilitate the in-person participation of community members with children at ICANN meetings. This program is currently on hold and will become operational when COVID-19 related circumstances permit.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the ICANN Organization

The ICANN organization strives to create a positive work environment where everyone is valued and respected.  The internet is global, therefore diversity is critical to our success and helps to attract and retain talent, improves decision making and outcomes by representing the people our mission serves while creating an environment for greater staff engagement.

We support this in a number of ways including:

• Diversity & Inclusion Training
• Growth & Development Opportunities
• Annual Staff Engagement Survey
• Internal Career Progression
• Organizational Policies

ICANN is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on age, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, physical or mental disability, sex, (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), childbirth or related medical conditions, family care status, genetic information, or any other protected characteristics protected by law.

For more information, see Careers at ICANN.