Resource
The Gender Digital Divide in Francophone Africa: A Harsh Reality
Women have one chance in three less than men to benefit in the African Information Society. In the “Gender Digital Divide in Francophone Africa” research on six countries (Benin, Burkina FasoBurkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal) conducted by the Gender and ICT Network, connections between gender and ICTs were found to be widely unrecognised. Looking at control, content, capacities and connectivity, the research measured gender disparities that are present with regard to access, use and mastery of ICTs. The reality surfaced from the results is as the title suggests, harsh. However, more positively, this collaborative research has developed critical statistical tools to enable concrete measurement of the gender digital divide. In turn, the data and knowledge base established renders the gender dimension in this field significantly visible. For the development of ICT policies that are equitable, strategic and relevant, particularly in response to poverty-reduction, this constitutes an important decision-making tool for the region. The research is available in both French and English
The publication presents the main results of the research on the “Gender digital divide in Francophone Africa: data and indicators”, which was carried out in 2004–2005 by the Gender and ICT Network (Réseau genre et TIC), with the sponsorship of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Ottawa, Canada).
The collective research was carried out under the coordination of Marie-Hélène Mottin-Sylla (Gender and ICT Network, ENDA, Dakar, Senegal). She has made use of the results of the survey and work undertaken by a research group comprising Moustapha Gibigaye (Benin), Sylvestre Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Robertine Tankeu (Cameroon), Sonya Noudehou (Mali), Fatma Mint Elkory (Mauritania) and Oumoul Khayri Niang Mbodj (Senegal).
GenARDIS News and Interviews
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August 6 Entebbe, Uganda
GenARDIS: supporting the use of ICTs by women farmers for social change
The GenARDIS grants programme was developed in recognition of the ICT-related constraints and challenges faced by rural women in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. GenARDIS grantees and honorable mentions gathered in Entebbe, Uganda for a knowledge sharing workshop on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society in early July. Policy recommendations and lessons learned are summed up by Sylvie Niombo, APC Africa Women's Co-Coordinator.
July 7 Entebbe, Uganda
Field trip to the St Jude rural training centre in Masaka - Could ICTs add a value in organic farming business?
We were impressed by the leadership of Josephine Kizza and her determination to run a small family project on organic farming successfully, when we visited her training centre called St Jude in Masaka on July 05th 2006.
July 7 Entebbe, Uganda
Increasing rural entrepreneurs women income – the case of Buwuma Multimedia Centre
Approximately 100 participants to the GenARDIS workshop and the conference on Women in the on Women and Science in Food and Nutrition Security, most of them women, have been invited to a field trip in rural areas of Uganda.
July 7 Entebbe, Uganda
GenARDIS winners attend a workshop in Entebbe
The workshop on knowledge-sharing on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society (GenARDIS) started on Monday at the Imperial Resort Beach hotel in Entebbe, Uganda coordinated by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET).
May 27 South Africa
Rural Women in the Wired World
Women who live in rural areas are at a particular disadvantage in the digital world — facing multiple barriers related both to gender and location. Given their central role in the agricultural economy, for example, rural women often have too much work and too little time to become familiar with these new technologies. And with their special responsibilities for children and the elderly, women typically cannot migrate as easily as men to towns and cities where training in the new technologies is more available. Cultural attitudes preventing women from visiting public access points frequented by men — in addition to generally lower levels of education and less political and economic power than their male counterparts — also limit women’s ability to enter the new world of ICTs. Add to this the lack of ICT materials in local languages, and the obstacles seem formidable indeed.
The small grants fund from GenARDIS (Gender and Agricultural/Rural Development in the Information Society) selected 10 projects aimed at breaking down those barriers separating rural women from the benefits of ICTs.
Keane J. Shore offers a snapshot of GenARDIS projects and of how a variety of tools and tactics — for instance, providing access to cellular phones, getting women connected to the Internet, and creating educational video — serve both rural women’s day-to-day needs and the longer-term goal of advancing the position of women within society.
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