Joi Chaney & Alisa Valentin: The Digital Divide - How Technology Impacts Our Lives

Tech Policy Leaders

The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to digital technologies and resources and those who do not.

If you asked most people what the digital divide was, they would probably assume it’s a reference to Internet access or computer usage. While these are both accurate representations of the digital divide, there’s more to it than that. The digital divide is actually a social divide that exists between individuals based on their access to technology and its benefits. In other words, it’s the disparity in technological knowledge, skills, and usage among different social groups.

One of the areas in which this divide has massive implications is privacy. For example, state governments that surveil women who are seeking abortions can discourage them from going online and taking advantage of all of the benefits that technology has to offer for entrepreneurship, education, and remote work.

Bio

Joi O. Chaney is a domestic legal policy expert, a political strategist, and currently the Executive Director of the Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President, Policy and Advocacy at the National Urban League. The Washington Bureau represents the League before the Legislative and Executive Branches, leads policy discussions that advance economic and social equality for the communities we serve, and engages the Urban League movement in advocacy campaigns aimed at achieving policy wins.

Bios

Dr. Alisa Valentin

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Dr. Alisa Valentin recently joined the National Urban League as the Senior Director of the Technology and Telecommunications Policy where she works on a broad range of issues including broadband, privacy, and media diversity. Alisa was previously the Special Advisor to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks where she advised the Commissioner on broadband access and adoption, prison phone justice, and future of work policies.

Joi Chaney

Joi O. Chaney is a domestic legal policy expert, a political strategist, and currently the Executive Director of the Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President, Policy and Advocacy at the National Urban League. The Washington Bureau represents the League before the Legislative and Executive Branches, leads policy discussions that advance economic and social equality for the communities we serve, and engages the Urban League movement in advocacy campaigns aimed at achieving policy wins.

Resources

National Urban League Washington Bureau

State of Black America Podcast

Condé Nast (Wired), The US Has a Historic Opportunity to Bridge the Digital Dividec(2022), https://www.wired.com/story/digital-divide-broadband-fcc/ (last visited Aug 8, 2022).