4. Agenda
Why is improving women’s access to ICTs important?
What happens if we ignore gender?
How does gender change ICT access?
What can we do?
Example of Gender analysis – Mobile Apps!
5. ICT4D – a thought
At present, IT is reinforcing more than
attacking inequality: men are
benefiting more than women; the rich
are benefiting more than the poor. The
challenge is to create the conditions
for 'reversing the polarities'; but that is
a task for social movements more than
computers (Richard Heeks, quoted by
Acharya, 2003).
6. Why is improving women’s
access to ICTs important?
business & Community
innovation dvlpmt
economic human
growth rights
untapped
resource
7. Cost of Ignoring Gender
ICTs are not
gender-neutral!
Knowledge
Lack of data society can
hampers full marginalize
understanding women
Lost
ICTs can cause
opportunities
harm (privacy,
to leapfrog
security)
over barriers
Gender
inequality esp.
in innovation &
policy
8. Differences in ICT usage by
gender
1. Availability & Opportunities to use ICTs
2. Social Expectations and Roles
3. Time and Resources
4. Education & Economic Growth
5. Business Growth
9. Availability & Opportunities to
use ICTs
• ICT infrastructure (including electricity)
– Nationally (rural vs. urban)
– Within cities (business vs. residential)
• Access mediated differently
– Household
– School
– Business
• Content (literacy)
10. Social Expectations and Roles
• ICTs seen as a threat to women/girls
– Mobile phones
– Pornography and illicit material
• Cybercafés inappropriate for women
– Clientele may be young men
– Distance/location
– Biases based on perceived skills of women
11. Time and Resources
• Less access to cash and credit
– Purchase ICTs, such as phones/phone cards
– Access training and support
• Less mobility/control over time
– Unable to travel
– Higher need to multi-task
– Household responsibilities
IRONY: ICTs can overcome these limitations IF
addressed!
12. Education & Economic Growth
• Education and Training
– Girls prevented from access when ICTs in school
– Biases about STEM education
– Training materials biased
– No pipeline for women in STEM leadership
• Employment
– Who gets training/access to ICTs
– Manual labor vs. knowledge-based
– Women in ICT labor often in lower level positions
13. Business Growth
• Women entrepreneurs lack access to ICT
business tools
• Women underrepresented as:
– ICT Inventors
– ICT Business owners
– ICT firm Board members
– ICT regulators
– Government ICT policy makers
14. Statistics and Data: Mobiles
• A woman is 37 % less likely to own a cell phone than
a man in South Asia, 23% in SSA, 26% in Egypt.
– BUT women are MORE likely to use one in South
Africa.
• Strong concerns (by controlling men) about women’s
“inappropriate usage” of mobile phones contributes
to these gaps
• Women are less likely to use their cell for information
gathering then men
• Significant lack of data on usage
15. What we can do?
Improve data!
Understand gender
Question assumptions & biases
Use ICTs to address barriers
16. Status of Gender and ICT Data
• Most NOT disaggregated by gender
• Measuring by household – doesn’t recognize
within household differences (esp. along
gender)
• Assumptions about KPA and ICTs
• Access & usage subject to rapid change – hard
to predict usage by gender
• Economic impact of women’s usage estimated
17. Improve Data
Default • Gender influences ICT use
assumption • We need to measure it!
• Quantitative
Share data • Qualitative /Best practices
Sample • Régentic Gender Digital Divide
indicators Indicators
18. Analyze demographics and
question assumptions
Baseline
Be aware
Perform & end line
of
measure Question
common gender ments biases
forms of analysis disag. by
disparity
gender
19. Use ICTs to address barriers
• Breaks location restrictions
• Literacy technology
– Text to voice/voice to text
– Instant translation
– Icon/visual based UX
• Improved security
• Crowdsourcing and distributed data collection
• Anonymous access/contributions
• Ecommerce and education opportunities
20. Summary
Improving women’s access to ICTs is essential
Ignoring Gender = exacerbating inequality
Women and men access/use ICTs differently
YES, WE CAN!
• Measure
• Question & Analyze
• Use to overcome barriers
Example of Gender analysis – Mobile Apps!
21. United States Department of State
Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues
Building Apps for the Developing World
that Women (and Men) Will Use
Ann Mei Chang
February 21, 2012
22. Women Drive Economic Growth
“Investing in women is an
investment in families, communities,
and countries. Investing in women’s
progress is the most direct and
effective way to invest in progress
economically and socially globally.”
- Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton at the mWomen
launch
25. The Mobile Gender Gap Is Real
A woman is 21% less likely to own
a mobile phone than a man in low-
to middle-income countries.
GSMA and Cherie Blair Foundation Report
32. 3
•
Are there Cultural Barriers?
Ability to travel
• Associations with promiscuity
• Interaction with males at distribution points
• Traditional beliefs about female asset
ownership
Photo credit: John Moore/Getty Images
33. 4 Is there Adequate Literacy?
Female literacy rates 25%+ lower in Africa and
South Asia. – UNESCO Institute for Statistics
34. 5 How about Technical Literacy?
Photo credit: PicCell Wireless
35. 6 Do Women Perceive a Need?
Photo credit: William Owen Smith and Mayang Adnin
36. 7 Is it Usable on the Device?
• Small screen
• 12-key entry
• Clumsy navigation
• Poor usability
Google reported seeing 50x more searches on next
generation smart phones than WAP feature phones
38. 9 How to Scale Awareness?
• Carrier distribution!
• Billboards, TV, radio
• Word of mouth
Will people remember your
service when they need it?
39. 10 Will the App be Maintained?
Sustainability is 80% of the Problem!
• Addressing issues in the field
• Multiple platforms
• Technology changes (tablets, OS update)
• Changes in human processes and
behaviors
• Feature requests
40. Recommendations
• Design for women’s actual needs and
priorities
• Consider proxies - where access or literacy
skills are not sufficient in target population
• Be open to a non-technical solution
• Leverage existing platforms where possible
• Build in an awareness and maintenance plan
from the start
GenARDIS: Gender, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Information SocietySTEM2STERN
Helping women helps families and communities – ICTs have proven applications for social and economic growthIn a society centered on knowledge, excluding any portion of your society is a human rights issue – exacerbating inequality is not an optionWomen, which make up 51% of the world’s population, are an untapped resource for international developmentImproving women’s capacities directly contribute to economic growthWomen add valuable perspective and skills for business and innovation
ICTs are not gender neutral. Without directly addressing gender, our projects are more likely than not to reinforce current gender stereotypes, and may even make women’s involvement even more difficult. Contrary to what might be expected, there is no direct relation between gender patterns in Internetuse and national Internet penetration or the improvement of a country’s Infostate — the level ofuptake and intensity of ICT use that can be quantified through empirical application (see Sciadas2005).Usage of digital technologies around the world is strongly tied to many factors, including education, socio-economic class, location, and gender. And when disaggregated by type and quality of usage – simple access vs. contributing content, high level IT jobs, science and technology education, e-commerce, or IT policy making - women's involvement is even more restricted. ICTs can also cause harm – from cyber stalkingICTs have tremendous ability to leapfrog over traditional barriers for women, especially those with twin disadvantages (poverty, illiteracy, minority status, living in rural areas, youth), IF we take those women’s demographic contexts into account. There is a serious lack of globaldata on ICTs and gender – the research extrapolates from what we know about technology and women, and from the few areas where data is good. However, what has been found is that when data is uncovered, the numbers are worse than assumed. Some industries, including that of mobile technology, do not even sex disaggregate users in most countries; this exacerbates the myth of ICT neutrality to the detriment of all users.
Differences in ICT OpportunitiesMany women have their access to communications technology (such as cell phones or the internet) mediated by members of their household, often men, who are the ones who use the ICTs. While this access is an improvement to no access at all, this mediated and often sporadic access is very different than full and uninhibited access that many programs assume women have by default. Women own fewer mobile phones that they have exclusive access to, which limits their access to services which rely on mobile phones. Phones that they have access to may not be private/are shared with other members of the community or household. Their lack of cell phone ownership is often due to limitations many women have to cash/credit to purchase the phone, and a credit history to establish an account, when pay per minute accounts are not available. Recent research indicates that in many societies, it is not acceptable for a woman to own a phone before her husband, brother or father; in these cases and in many others, cultural norms dictate ownership and access. Literacy is an additional barrier to mobile phone use, most largely among women; but it is also an incentive in some places for women to become literate – so that they may use and benefit from their phones. Women are less likely to be literate, especially in the four world languages (English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish), which dominate the internet. This limits the ability to use text based internet resources, which still the dominant form of media available online. Differences in Social ExpectationsWomen, especially young single women and teenagers, have more and different concerns over social considerations and appropriate behavior related to technology than do men. Even if a woman has physical access to a cyber café, she may not feel comfortable entering if the facility is considered by her community to be unsafe or inappropriate for women, especially as many cyber cafés are dominated by men. When it comes to purchasing mobile phones, top-up cards or other related services, women in some cultures are not permitted into stores, particularly ones that are male-run or staffed. This barrier further complicates women’s ability to benefit from ICT services. The overwhelming male atmosphere of many public internet points, technology schools and learning centers, which often have exclusively male staff and trainers, reinforces the stereotype that ICTs are for men. When women use these facilities, they may be treated differently by staff and other patrons because they are women; for example, they may be assumed to be novices or have their competency to learn new skills questioned. They may be subjected to unwanted attention due to the rarity of female presences in these locations, a situation which reinforces itself. Gender inequality in the workplace, where women are more often found in positions of support and managers and leaders are almost exclusively male, impacts the distribution of ICT tools among employees. It has been observed that in many developing countries, female employees often have poorer or no access to tools such as computers, software, mobile and PDA devices, and the internet, as these tools are reserved for higher status positions. When lower status employees are given access to these tools, they are often of poorer quality/older models and the users may have been given only basic training on its use, leading to a self-perpetuating belief that ICTs are only for more highly educated/higher status employees. Without explicit training for leadership on how these tools can improve productivity of ALL employees and guidance on how to introduce these tools effectively, these leaders are likely to continue to treat ICT tools as professional perks of high status positions. ICT trainers and training materials often do not include women and girls in the same proportion to men and/or display women not as leaders but as users of the technology, reinforcing the stereotypes of women as not competent in ICTs. While some research has found that girls and women with secondary education have similar access to ICTs as men with similar educational background, female usage is more often restricted to entry level skills, to gain access to secretarial level positions. Women are rarely analysts, content creators, or high-level system developers. ICT classes at all levels (introductory to advanced) are not marketed to women/girls at the same rate as they are to men. Advanced computing and engineering often have traditional pre-requisite courses such as math and sciences, which historically have had significantly lower female attendance rates than male. Computer games, often the entry point for boys to computers, are still overwhelmingly male oriented. Many are individual, task oriented, combat based games that often do not appeal to women. They often reinforce traditional gender stereotypes, by either having no female characters at all or the female characters are overly sexualized with scantily clad, unrealistic bodies. Substantial growth in female gaming has been seen in non-linear, non-combat focused, socially nuanced cooperative games, such as Civilization, the Sims, Second Life, and World of Warcraft (which is highly supportive of team work to conquer a foe).The internet is often seen (not entirely incorrectly) as full of inappropriate content and dangerous people, resulting in more restrictions on girls’ access and a feeling of a need to chaperone their online presence, which often restricts their explorations to that of the comfort zone of the adult chaperone. Mobile phone and internet access is often seen as destabilizing and threatening to marriage and family relationships. Gender stereotypes about the need to protect girls and women translates to the digital world, with the assumption that older boys and young men do not require the same sort of protection, results in girls and women feeling and being more restricted in their use of the internet/mobile phones, and boys/young men being less supervised (with sometimes very negative consequences). The lack of supportive role models and mentors in technology - female or male – negatively impacts women who may have the courage to start a course but when facing barriers or challenges, may discontinue due to a lack of encouragement or support by those senior to her. In fact, many women are encouraged to quit when faced with challenges, rather than be offered creative solutions to overcome those challenges. Differences in Available Time and ResourcesWomen around the world have much less free time to access computers or attend onsite training programs, especially when such training programs are located far from places women frequent. Women overall have less time to learn how to use a new program, explore the web, or learn about new technologies. They often need to multi-task, such as providing childcare, household work, or income generation activities, which often are not compatible with how ICTs are currently accessed. Women also traditionally have less access to cash to pay for computer access, training, support, Internet services, mobile phones, etc. They have less access to credit or online payment methods, resulting in less ability to use ecommerce. In some countries, women’s legal ability to sign contracts or agree to terms of use are restricted by marriage or age in a way that men are not. Ironically, ICTs are also well-suited to supporting multi-tasking and access that are location independent. The internet also has more free information and services for health, education and social benefits, a huge benefit for cash poor women. Because women invest more in their families for education, food and health, ICTs that help manage and access these social services are smart investments for a community. Differences in Access to Technology EducationWhen computers are available in schools, girls often are shut out of access by boys when access is not mediated. Boys are both often more aggressive in their demand for access and their interest is encouraged by the stereotypes that boys “like” computers more than girls do. This belief is also reinforced by the fact that are also more games considered appropriate for boys available than games available for girls. Girls have their access to the internet more monitored than boys, to protect them from “unsuitable” content, which again reinforces the stereotype that ICTs are not appropriate for girls. In addition to lower general educational attainment for girls and women, women are very underrepresented in technical education subjects such as mathematics, computer science, engineering, and physics. Many women who do work in technology often come from non-technical subjects such as graphic design, library sciences, or communications. Differences in Access to Business TechnologyEntrepreneurial success is positively correlated with business tools such as Microsoft Excel, accounting software, and access to banking and capital. Women’s relative unfamiliarity with these tools means they are at a disadvantage when managing their businesses. Women’s physical access to training and encouragement to learn how to use computers, especially for business usage, is much lower than that of men. Technology is one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial industries and a rapidly expanding source of jobs. Non-technology firms are incorporating technology into their core business processes to increase capacity and promote savings. Women-owned businesses are the fastest type of new business in the US and in many western countries, partially fueled by technology. However, globally women are less likely to use technology in their businesses, less likely to have access to investment capital, and less likely to found technology firms. Women are rarely on the boards of technology firms, rarely ICT regulators or hold government positions with influence on policy and processes for ICT regulations, and also rarely included as academic experts in ICT policy. Gender may be considered within ICT policy, but it is often as an afterthought or with one woman intended to represent all gender issues. (ITU 2007a). (Adam 2005). http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/Knowledge%20Centre/Engendering_the_Knowledge_Society.pdfpg 37http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/254/124
Differences in ICT AvailabilityICT infrastructure (and electricity) is concentrated in urban areas, often primary or secondary cities, while women tend to live outside these areas. Very few households have personal access to the internet or a personal computer. Most ICT access is via mobile phone and/or cybercafé/telecenter. Internet-enabled smartphones are very expensive, hard to keep charged, and broadband data connectivity outside of urban areas is very limited. Even in urban areas, the business districts and wealthy neighborhoods have much higher saturation of ICT businesses and access points, while areas where women tend to frequent (food markets, poor neighborhoods) have significantly fewer access points. In summary, to even access ICTs, women across the globe have to travel farther than men. Differences in ICT OpportunitiesMany women have their access to communications technology (such as cell phones or the internet) mediated by members of their household, often men, who are the ones who use the ICTs. While this access is an improvement to no access at all, this mediated and often sporadic access is very different than full and uninhibited access that many programs assume women have by default. Women own fewer mobile phones that they have exclusive access to, which limits their access to services which rely on mobile phones. Phones that they have access to may not be private/are shared with other members of the community or household. Their lack of cell phone ownership is often due to limitations many women have to cash/credit to purchase the phone, and a credit history to establish an account, when pay per minute accounts are not available. Recent research indicates that in many societies, it is not acceptable for a woman to own a phone before her husband, brother or father; in these cases and in many others, cultural norms dictate ownership and access. Literacy is an additional barrier to mobile phone use, most largely among women; but it is also an incentive in some places for women to become literate – so that they may use and benefit from their phones. Women are less likely to be literate, especially in the four world languages (English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish), which dominate the internet. This limits the ability to use text based internet resources, which still the dominant form of media available online.(ITU 2007a). (Adam 2005). http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/Knowledge%20Centre/Engendering_the_Knowledge_Society.pdfpg 37
Differences in Social ExpectationsWomen, especially young single women and teenagers, have more and different concerns over social considerations and appropriate behavior related to technology than do men. Even if a woman has physical access to a cyber café, she may not feel comfortable entering if the facility is considered by her community to be unsafe or inappropriate for women, especially as many cyber cafés are dominated by men. When it comes to purchasing mobile phones, top-up cards or other related services, women in some cultures are not permitted into stores, particularly ones that are male-run or staffed. This barrier further complicates women’s ability to benefit from ICT services. The overwhelming male atmosphere of many public internet points, technology schools and learning centers, which often have exclusively male staff and trainers, reinforces the stereotype that ICTs are for men. When women use these facilities, they may be treated differently by staff and other patrons because they are women; for example, they may be assumed to be novices or have their competency to learn new skills questioned. They may be subjected to unwanted attention due to the rarity of female presences in these locations, a situation which reinforces itself. http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/254/124
Differences in Available Time and ResourcesWomen around the world have much less free time to access computers or attend onsite training programs, especially when such training programs are located far from places women frequent. Women overall have less time to learn how to use a new program, explore the web, or learn about new technologies. They often need to multi-task, such as providing childcare, household work, or income generation activities, which often are not compatible with how ICTs are currently accessed. Women also traditionally have less access to cash to pay for computer access, training, support, Internet services, mobile phones, etc. They have less access to credit or online payment methods, resulting in less ability to use ecommerce. In some countries, women’s legal ability to sign contracts or agree to terms of use are restricted by marriage or age in a way that men are not. Ironically, ICTs are also well-suited to supporting multi-tasking and access that are location independent. The internet also has more free information and services for health, education and social benefits, a huge benefit for cash poor women. Because women invest more in their families for education, food and health, ICTs that help manage and access these social services are smart investments for a community.
Differences in Access to Technology EducationWhen computers are available in schools, girls often are shut out of access by boys when access is not mediated. Boys are both often more aggressive in their demand for access and their interest is encouraged by the stereotypes that boys “like” computers more than girls do. This belief is also reinforced by the fact that are also more games considered appropriate for boys available than games available for girls. Girls have their access to the internet more monitored than boys, to protect them from “unsuitable” content, which again reinforces the stereotype that ICTs are not appropriate for girls. In addition to lower general educational attainment for girls and women, women are very underrepresented in technical education subjects such as mathematics, computer science, engineering, and physics. Many women who do work in technology often come from non-technical subjects such as graphic design, library sciences, or communications. EmploymentGender inequality in the workplace, where women are more often found in positions of support and managers and leaders are almost exclusively male, impacts the distribution of ICT tools among employees. It has been observed that in many developing countries, female employees often have poorer or no access to tools such as computers, software, mobile and PDA devices, and the internet, as these tools are reserved for higher status positions. When lower status employees are given access to these tools, they are often of poorer quality/older models and the users may have been given only basic training on its use, leading to a self-perpetuating belief that ICTs are only for more highly educated/higher status employees. Without explicit training for leadership on how these tools can improve productivity of ALL employees and guidance on how to introduce these tools effectively, these leaders are likely to continue to treat ICT tools as professional perks of high status positions. ICT trainers and training materials often do not include women and girls in the same proportion to men and/or display women not as leaders but as users of the technology, reinforcing the stereotypes of women as not competent in ICTs. While some research has found that girls and women with secondary education have similar access to ICTs as men with similar educational background, female usage is more often restricted to entry level skills, to gain access to secretarial level positions. Women are rarely analysts, content creators, or high-level system developers. ICT classes at all levels (introductory to advanced) are not marketed to women/girls at the same rate as they are to men. Advanced computing and engineering often have traditional pre-requisite courses such as math and sciences, which historically have had significantly lower female attendance rates than male. Computer games, often the entry point for boys to computers, are still overwhelmingly male oriented. Many are individual, task oriented, combat based games that often do not appeal to women. They often reinforce traditional gender stereotypes, by either having no female characters at all or the female characters are overly sexualized with scantily clad, unrealistic bodies. Substantial growth in female gaming has been seen in non-linear, non-combat focused, socially nuanced cooperative games, such as Civilization, the Sims, Second Life, and World of Warcraft (which is highly supportive of team work to conquer a foe).The internet is often seen (not entirely incorrectly) as full of inappropriate content and dangerous people, resulting in more restrictions on girls’ access and a feeling of a need to chaperone their online presence, which often restricts their explorations to that of the comfort zone of the adult chaperone. Mobile phone and internet access is often seen as destabilizing and threatening to marriage and family relationships. Gender stereotypes about the need to protect girls and women translates to the digital world, with the assumption that older boys and young men do not require the same sort of protection, results in girls and women feeling and being more restricted in their use of the internet/mobile phones, and boys/young men being less supervised (with sometimes very negative consequences). The lack of supportive role models and mentors in technology - female or male – negatively impacts women who may have the courage to start a course but when facing barriers or challenges, may discontinue due to a lack of encouragement or support by those senior to her. In fact, many women are encouraged to quit when faced with challenges, rather than be offered creative solutions to overcome those challenges.
Differences in Access to Business TechnologyEntrepreneurial success is positively correlated with business tools such as Microsoft Excel, accounting software, and access to banking and capital. Women’s relative unfamiliarity with these tools means they are at a disadvantage when managing their businesses. Women’s physical access to training and encouragement to learn how to use computers, especially for business usage, is much lower than that of men. Technology is one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial industries and a rapidly expanding source of jobs. Non-technology firms are incorporating technology into their core business processes to increase capacity and promote savings. Women-owned businesses are the fastest type of new business in the US and in many western countries, partially fueled by technology. However, globally women are less likely to use technology in their businesses, less likely to have access to investment capital, and less likely to found technology firms. Women are rarely on the boards of technology firms, rarely ICT regulators or hold government positions with influence on policy and processes for ICT regulations, and also rarely included as academic experts in ICT policy. Gender may be considered within ICT policy, but it is often as an afterthought or with one woman intended to represent all gender issues.
ICT Diffusion Index (UNCTAD)Network Readiness Index (World Economic Forum)Digital Opportunity Index (ITU)Digital Access Index (ITU) List of the Indicators appearing in the World Telecommunication Indicators/ICT Indicators databaseThe ITU 2011 only disaggregates total telecommunications employees – female vs male
Be aware that the common forms of disparity relate to the traditional constraints facing women: lower income levels and lower access to disposable income/cash, time constraints, lower literacy rates, and more restrictions on physical mobility. Gender gaps in ICTs often narrow when looking at populations with higher educations, income and those living in urban area, though they rarely disappear. By performing demographic research on ICT access, you can become creative in overcoming these traditional barriers. For example: Capital for cell phone or minutes purchase, or a radioVouchers for free access at a cyber café or mobile minutesTechnology design that is supportive of lower literacy rates (such as text to voice, icon based user interface) and/or lower bandwidth/pay per minute access (such as using SMS protocols, offline downloads of content, etc.)Opening kiosks and other ICT services in places where women already frequent (such as the market, near schools, etc.), or that are run by women thereby allowing female accessExtend hours or offer childcare, food services, etc. so women can multi-taskMediate access in schools to allow all children equal time on computers Also be aware that there are additional causes, such as biases against women in science and technology education and professions, female IT employment tends to be restricted to entry level positions (secretarial, data entry, call centers), and suspicion by family members over female access to communication methods. Stereotypes are powerful restrictions to access. Question your own and other’s stereotypes about gender and technology, which can lead to assumptions about who “should” be accessing these tools or who is a possible “expert” in ICTs. To counter this issue, you can identify these stereotypes and biases and find positive models to overcome them, such as:Female teachers and trainersImages of successful women using ICTs and of female ICT creators and developersSupport from traditional authority figures on women’s involvement in ICTs and communication toolsMentoring and support of girls and women professionally interested in ICTsReframe ICTs to focus on use and outcomes, rather than the technology
