Pursuing digital equity in the Caribbean: Using human-centred approaches to improve digital policy outcomes. Policy Brief

Digital divide is the issue, digital inclusion is the work, digital equity is the goal.” – Puerto Rico Digital Equity Plan. Digital transformation does not inherently bring benefits to individuals or communities. Rather, it brings opportunities to be seized and risks to be managed, along with other changes that cannot be neatly fitted into either category. Digital technology can be used to support sustainable development aspirations and make societies more resilient, but can also harm individuals and communities, directly and indirectly. The more dependent societies become on digital technology, the more difficult life will become for those that are digitally excluded, meaning those who do not have access to digital technology, the skills to use it, or the means or privilege to derive benefits from it (Alexander and others 2023). There are also general risks associated with data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents that may make societies as a whole more vulnerable. Because digital divides are so intertwined with societal dynamics of power and privilege, marginalized people and communities are typically the ones being excluded and harmed, while the most privileged people and communities derive the most benefit. In summary: “Digital divides reflect and amplify existing social, cultural and economic inequalities” (United Nations, 2020). To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), digital divides must be addressed, so that we “leave no one behind”, “reach the furthest behind first” (2030 Agenda), and “reduce inequality within and among nations” (SDG 10), among others.