ICANN chair Cherine Chalaby urged the corporation’s Nominating Committee to put forward more female candidates for the board of directors, adding that there is a growing public demand for gender equality.
According to the Domain Incite news blog, of the current 20 directors, six are women. This is some 30 percent, which is also about the proportion of women that usually attend ICANN’s public meetings held three times a year. However, two of these six women are non-voting committee liaisons. Thus, the female portion of the voting members is only 12.5 percent. Apparently, the corporation’s leaders believe that this share is too low and does not reflect the current trends. However, Cherine Chalaby emphasizes that gender issues must not compromise the requirements for board directors, including knowledge, experience, skills and the necessary integrity in the life of the domain society.
