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Gender, Information Technology, and Developing Countries: an Analytic Study

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Gender, Information Technology, and Developing Countries: an Analytic Study Gender, Information Technology, and Developing Countries: An Analytic Study By Nancy Hafkin and Nancy Taggart Academy for Educational Development (AED) For the Office of Women in Development Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research United States Agency for International Development June 2001 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This document has been produced under AED's Global Communications and Learning Systems (LearnLink) Project of the Human Capacity Development Center in USAID's Global Bureau, a five-year, Indefinite Quantities Contract No. HNE-1-00-96-00018-00, and Task Order 2432-21. AED acknowledges and thanks USAID's Office of Women in Development for their sponsorship and this opportunity to prepare an analytical study of the gender implications in the spread of information technology. Also, AED expresses its appreciation to Cisco Systems and the Cisco Learning Institute for their support of AED's research on women in technology training. AED gathered much of the data on information technology education and training included in this paper as part of a project funded by the Cisco Learning Institute entitled Support for Gender Strategies in the Cisco Networking Academy Program, Contract No. 12-2789. The following persons are recognized for their contribution of photographs for the paper: · Sergio Aranda (photo on page 48) · Sonia Arias (photo on page 63) · Sabina Béhague (photo on page 71) · CATT-PILOTE staff (photo on the cover and page 88) · Mary Fontaine (photos on the inside cover and pages 18, 35, and 53) · Nancy Hafkin (photo on page 73) · Linda Leonard (photo on page 97) · LTNet staff (photos on page 12 and 67) · Glenn Strachan (photo on page 43) · Photographer, unknown (photo on page 83) · Frederick Wamala (photo on page 23) Finally, thanks go to the team of LearnLink staff and readers that worked diligently to finalize production copy. ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................... 1 THE CURRENT SITUATION OF GENDER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES .......................................... 1 USES ............................................................................................. 1 OBSTACLES TO WOMEN'S ACCESS ..................................................... 2 Impact of Information on Women's Work.......................................... 2 Economic Empowerment through Information Technology.................... 3 WOMEN'S POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT THROUGH IT ............................... 4 ENSURING WOMEN'S ABILITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT OPPORTUNITIES .............................................................................. 4 Policy ......................................................................................... 5 Infrastructure .............................................................................. 5 Education.................................................................................... 5 Skills .......................................................................................... 5 Access for Poor Women ................................................................. 6 CONCLUSION.................................................................................. 6 WHY A CONCERN ABOUT GENDER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? .......................................................... 7 CURRENT SITUATION OF GENDER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.......................................................... 11 WOMEN AS USERS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY .............................11 Extent To Which Women Are Using New Information Technologies .......11 Uses to Which Women are Putting New Technologies .........................15 WOMEN AS PRODUCERS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ......................19 WOMEN AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DECISIONMAKING................20 IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON GENDER ISSUES: TRAFFICKING.................................................................................21 THE CURRENT SITUATION: OBSTACLES TO ACCESS......................... 23 WOMEN'S ACCESS TO NEW TECHNOLOGY ...........................................23 Literacy and Education .................................................................23 Language ...................................................................................24 Time .........................................................................................24 Cost ..........................................................................................25 Geographical Location ..................................................................25 Social and Cultural Norms .............................................................26 Skills .........................................................................................27 WOMEN'S ACCESS TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND TRAINING......................................................................................27 Studying Science and Technology ...................................................28 Roles in Family and Society...........................................................29 Cost ..........................................................................................30 iii Schooling Systems ...................................................................... 31 ACCESS ISSUES: GENDER OR POVERTY? ........................................... 31 IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON WOMEN'S WORK .........33 WOMEN IN AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE ................................................................................. 33 Gendered Divisions of Labor.......................................................... 34 Feminization of IT Occupations ...................................................... 35 IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON WOMEN'S WORK................................ 36 Gender Issues in Globalization....................................................... 36 Impact of Information Technology on Women's Work ........................ 36 In the Manufacturing Sector.......................................................... 37 Changes in the Organization of Work .............................................. 38 The Service Sector ...................................................................... 38 The Knowledge-Based Economy ..................................................... 40 Changing Locations of Work: The Informal Sector and the Casualization of Labor.................................................................. 41 Teleworking—New Technology in Homeworking ................................ 41 TRENDS AND ISSUES...................................................................... 42 Lessons for Other Areas ............................................................... 43 OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ..........................................45 UTILIZING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE WOMEN'S CURRENT ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ..................................................... 45 Farmers..................................................................................... 45 Information Intermediaries ........................................................... 46 Entrepreneurs............................................................................. 47 IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN THE NEW ECONOMY ....... 49 Outsourcing: Teleworking and Teleservices...................................... 50 Manufacturing ............................................................................ 52 E-Commerce .............................................................................. 53 IT-Enabled Businesses ................................................................. 54 Core IT Sector Employment .......................................................... 57 POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH IT.......................61 IMPROVING GOVERNANCE............................................................... 61 IT and Governance...................................................................... 61 IT FOR THE POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN.............................. 62 Ending Women's Isolation............................................................. 62 Networking ................................................................................ 63 Strengthening Women's Participation in the Political Process............... 64 IMPROVED GOVERNANCE ................................................................ 66 Improved Information Flows and Service Delivery ............................. 66 EDUCATION................................................................................... 66 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE .............................................................. 66 Ongoing Projects ........................................................................ 67 ENSURING WOMEN'S ABILITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................69 ENGENDERING IT POLICY ................................................................ 69 iv Social Aspects of IT Policy.............................................................69 Gender Concerns in IT Policy.........................................................71 The Policy Elaboration Process .......................................................72
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