Gender, information technology and the digital divide in Africa and other developing areas

1. Gender, information technology and the digital divide in Africa and other developing areas Nancy J. Hafkin, at the The World Bank 28 March 2001

2. Areas to look at • why consider gender and IT? • access • usage • women and IT decision making • IT and women’s work • IT for economic and political empowerment • policy • ensuring women’s inclusion PREM Gender and Development Group

3. Why do you need Internet if you don’t have clean water? • basic needs not in opposition- all needed • information technology can facilitate access to education and health care • access to IT linked to development; absence means further marginalization • ending isolation facilitates economic growth, alleviates poverty, empowers women PREM Gender and Development Group

4. Not all good: sexual exploitation putting women in low wage, low end jobs threats to women’s jobs Not all bad new jobs and opportunities end to isolation broadened range of vision All good or all bad? PREM Gender and Development Group

5. Access: not just a connected computer . . . • literacy • education • technical literacy • costs • language • culture and society • information use skills PREM Gender and Development Group

6. women 2/3’s of world’s illiterates one of two women in developing countries illiterate negative attitudes towards schoolgirls in science and math studying computer science- falling in the U.S., but high in many developing countries S&T education: lowest rates among women in Africa Literacy and education PREM Gender and Development Group

7. “Only ugly girls study science . . .” • FAWE- lack of self-esteem, poor self-image, non-assertive behavior • largely male math and science teachers discourage young girls • girls 2.1% of engineering students Ghana, 1.6% in Kenya • hopeful: women 15.8% of engineers, 41.2% of math and computer science students in Sudan PREM Gender and Development Group

8. Time, cost, location, technical skills • women don’t have time • costs more in developing countries • no computers at home • can women get there? • what are Windows? • need information use skills PREM Gender and Development Group

9. to date dominance of English on Internet but falling: 95% in 1999, 68.4% in 2000 followed by German, Japanese, French Chinese expected to be first by 2008 What if you don’t speak English? PREM Gender and Development Group

10. Women’s IT usage in Africa and other developing regions • no surprise, it’s low • compare to 51% of users in U.S. women, 60% of population with Internet access • but % of women increasing everywhere • no correlation between female usage and expected indicators • women users in developing countries part of small, educated urban elite PREM Gender and Development Group

11. Women as % of Internet users, Africa PREM Gender and Development Group

12. Increases in % women’s use last year PREM Gender and Development Group

13. Some large absolute numbers • Numbers of women Internet users • Brazil 1.075 Million • China 6.840 Million • Russia 4.560 Million • Expected by 2003 • 8 million women users in China • 2 million women users in India PREM Gender and Development Group

14. Deepest of the digital divide . . . PREM Gender and Development Group

15. What women use IT for • networking for political advocacy • networking for business • women medium-scale formal sector entrepreneurs using business applications almost as much as men • e-mail and discussion lists more than Web • corporate sector trying to entice women in dc’s into global shopping mall PREM Gender and Development Group

16. Women as producers, decision makers • Issue: women shouldn’t remain passive consumers of IT • not there yet as producers, except in software programming • women absent from IT decision making • some women ministers of communication • no developing country women in ITU study groups or on ICANN PREM Gender and Development Group

17. IT and women’s work • in first phase of globalized manufacturing, many jobs for women in assembly of electronics (Asia, Latin America) • women losing out in knowledge and technology-intensive jobs • new jobs emerging in service industries-remote data entry, call centers • African women can compete in service industries with sufficient infrastructure, language skills PREM Gender and Development Group

18. Teleworking • IT work has not moved to women’s homes except at professional level • women prefer telecottages • teleworking in dc’s is outsourcing • women need skills training and upgrading to retain jobs PREM Gender and Development Group

19. Economic empowerment: what IT opportunities can women seize? • Farmers: need information on markets, agricultural inputs, food preservation and storage • access problems can be overcome: farm radio, listening clubs, WorldSpace, community centers with intermediaries • train schoolgirls as community information assistants PREM Gender and Development Group

20. Entrepreneurs • need marketing information, locate new clients • make businesses more efficient and profitable • women entrepreneurs not using IT as much as men • can be used economically by businesses grossing more than $20,000/year PREM Gender and Development Group

21. New economy opportunities • outsourcing, teleworking, teleservices • $103 billion/year • low human resource requirements- secondary education, basic computer skills, ability to recognize Latin script • low capital requirements • recession resistant • good telecommunications infrastructure needed PREM Gender and Development Group

22. e-commerce • for existing businesses and new economy • in B-C need unique products, ability to transcend delivery problems • some success stories: tortasperu.com, ethiogift.com, peoplink.org, elsouk.com, barnacraft.org (SEWA) • B-B and B-G better than B-C PREM Gender and Development Group

23. IT-enabled businesses • Grameen Phones • STD booths (India) • teleboutiques (Senegal) • low capital, skills requirements • good telecommunications infrastructure not always needed • links with ICT policy PREM Gender and Development Group

24. IT for political empowerment • to end women’s isolation and give them a voice • to network women for social and political advocacy • to strengthen women’s participation in the political process • to improve performance of elected women officials • to improve women’s access to government and its services • through education • through the dissemination of indigenous knowledge PREM Gender and Development Group

25. Engendering ICT policy • must be done to ensure women included, women-friendly access alternatives exist • also, gender and development policy needs to include possibilities offered by ICT PREM Gender and Development Group

26. Ensuring women’s inclusion- how to do it? • Technology will take care of some access problems • Training for women in non-traditional fields • Develop role models • Inclusion of ICT training in training and education projects for girls and women • Train young women from communities at community centers • Improve girl’s and women’s education in Africa PREM Gender and Development Group

27. We must recognize that this Information Technology is here to stay . . . what we have to decide is we either play the game . . . and turn it to our advantage or lose out completely.” Fatma Alloo, Federation of Tanzania Media Women, Zanzibar