The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network

April 2014 | Vol. 8, No.1

Gender and ICTs Bridging the digital divide

By Susheela Venkataraman1
How many times have you checked your e-mail today? Or logged in to your favorite social network? Or even just opened up a new window to browse the internet? Information, communication and technology (I !" have transformed our world in ways that could not have been possible just a few decades ago# It has changed the way organi$ations work, the way information is shared, even the ways that we connect to other people# !en years ago many of us have never even sent a single e-mail# %ow we have integrated that, along with mobile messaging, social networking, and other forms of communication to change the way we interact with each other# &ight now, '( million te)ts are being sent every minute# !hat is a lot of communication taking place# *nd that number will just keep on growing# !oday, almost +(, of the world-s population has access to the internet# !raditional modes of thought and business are being transformed every day, even giving rise to new industries such as ./Os# 0ittle wonder that I ! has been called a 1digital dragon2# 3es, I ! has changed our lives# It has made our world more connected and more informed, but has it made our world more inclusive? In many ways, the answer is yes# 4or women, I ! has opened a whole new world of knowledge, services, and economic opportunities where before they had to depend on the men in their family, just to let them use the radio# !hanks to mobile phones, a woman farmer in 5outh *sia can get a leg up on her work# 5he can receive information about the best times to sow, the best prices to sell her wares, and even advance warnings for inclement weather, pests or diseases# 4or women farmers, who do not have the same level of access and participation to workers- cooperatives or other producers- organi$ations, their mobile phones become an information gateway# !hanks to telemedicine, pregnant women in isolated rural 6ongolia have access to advanced healthcare remotely# !his can mean life or death not just for them, but for the infant that they carry# 6any of them had to travel ',7(( kilometers over bumpy roads just to reach a major treatment center, costing time and the well-being of the e)pecting mothers# I ! ensures that babies are born in a better way, and that infant mortality in the region is decreasing#
1

Asian Development Banks Principal Director, Office of Information Systems and Technology

!hese are just some of innovative applications of I ! for women worldwide# .ut for every success story, there are also many stories of hardship and ine8uality that remind us that there still e)ists a gender gap even in the digital world# 4amily opposition is oftentimes the strongest factor against women using I !# %on-users are si) times more likely to report family opposition to their use of the internet# 9irls are prevented from accessing the Internet using the same, common argument against basic schooling: because they might get e)posed, because their honor and virtue need to be 1protected2# In /akistan, two teenage sisters were murdered simply because they posted a video of themselves dancing in the rain# !his did not happen ten years ago;it happened in <('=# >e are in a world accelerating at a huge pace but women are being left behind# In the developing world, <=, less women than men have access to the internet# !his figure soars to more than +(, in areas like 5ub-5aharan *frica# !he global I ! industry itself employs many more men than women# *nd guess what? !hey earn much more too# One study says that if we take action now, we can actually double the number of women that have access to the Internet in just three years# !hat would empower '7( million women, add ?( billion to the market, contribute '@ billion to the 9A/, and boost by '7, the worldwide per capita income# Is that something we should ignore? I believe not# 4irst, we need to recogni$e Internet penetration and e8ual access to the Internet as being an e)tremely important part of development# It is a foundation# *nd if we don-t address this, we are actually allowing the gender gap to grow - and grow rapidly, to a point where it will become e)tremely difficult to even start thinking of bringing it back under control# %e)t, we must enable I ! industries and markets to become more inclusive# >e should encourage active participation of women in everything to do with I !# >hen we talk about I !, it-s not just the technology itselfB it-s about the way people use technology# >ithout active participation and active involvement from everyone all we would have is technology that serves no one# 4inally, we must work together in breaking the cycle# I ! is a powerful tool, not just in making our lives convenient, but in also empowering the lives of marginali$ed, disenfranchised individuals# >e have much to gain in using I ! in our efforts to reduce the gender gap# !his is my dream, that all of us will be putting to use this digital dragon for the good of the world, for the good of the women of the world# .ecause if 7(, of the world-s population is not happy, the world-s population is not happyB if 7(, of the world-s population is poor, the world is poor#

Sources: Geldof, Marije. Earphones are not for women: gendered ICT use among youths in Ethiopia and Malawi. "nnen#erg School for Communication $ %ournalism, &'(() Gender e*uality and food security: women+s empowerment as a tool against hunger. ,"- and "./, &'(0) ICT facts and figures IT!, &'(0). !SC

Intel. 1omen and the we#. &'(&). Mo#ile de2ices and their impact. ICT in "griculture, &'(&). http:33www.ictinagriculture.org3source#oo43module505 mo#ile5de2ices5and5their5impact. 6Telemedicine supports maternal and new#orn health in Mongolia7. Telemedicine: opportunities and de2elopments in mem#er states. 18-, &''9). Two girls, mother 4illed o2er family 2ideo. .awn.com, &'(0) http:33www.dawn.com3news3('&':;<

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The vie#s e$pressed in this paper are the vie#s of the a%thors and do not necessarily reflect the vie#s or policies of the Asian Development Bank &ADB', or its Board of (overnors, or the governments they represent) ADB does not g%arantee the acc%racy of the data incl%ded in this paper and accepts no responsi*ility for any conse+%ence of their %se) The co%ntries listed in this paper do not imply any vie# on ADB,s part as to sovereignty or independent stat%s or necessarily conform to ADB,s terminology)