1.4 Selection of practices
The selection of countries was made in consultations with ITU regional offices, which are best positioned to identify countries from their respective regions. Practices are clustered according to ITU regional groupings.23
ITU regional offices identified a set of countries in which ministries and other government agencies put in place practices considered to be successful (i.e., practices that have effectively helped women and girls benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital economy) related to one (or more) of the five policy areas defined above.24
A geographical representation within the six ITU regions as well as the inclusion of countries of different level of development were considered when selecting countries. The ease of acceding to government representatives for collecting information about practices was also taken into consideration. The selection includes both, countries with a high level of gender equality in the digital domain, and countries with a low level of gender equality but that, nevertheless managed to successfully implement practices that effectively helped women and girls benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital economy.
A standardized approach was adopted for the collection of practices. Focal points in ministries and other government agencies were requested to provide information about practices in a template developed based on the ITU Good Practice Canvas (i.e., practice, type, goals and policy area, key activities, governance, resources and impact).25
A pool of 27 practices on gender mainstreaming in digital policies, strategies, programmes and/or projects is the basis for this handbook (see Annex 2). Table 1 shows where these practices were put in place by governments of 19 countries from the ITU regions.
Table 1: Practices on gender mainstreaming in digital policies, strategies, programmes and/or projects (by region)
| ITU region | Countries | Numbers of practices |
| Africa | Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Zimbabwe | 6 |
| Americas | Argentina, Barbados, Chile, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago | 8 |
| Arab States | Egypt; the State of Palestine | 3 |
| Asia and the Pacific | Australia; Republic of Korea | 4 |
| Commonwealth of Independent States | Azerbaijan; Uzbekistan | 2 |
| Europe | Germany; Montenegro; Serbia | 4 |
| Total | 19 | 27 |