Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy: implications for the women's movement

Achievements: The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 is generally regarded as a watershed in understanding of information technology as a powerful tool that women could use for mobilization, information exchange, and empowerment. Beijing was also the first international conference at which substantive issues relating to women, information and communication technology were debated, albeit somewhat on the margins of the core agenda. The 2000 review of the implementation of the BPFA acknowledged the increased opportunities afforded to women through the use of ICT – in knowledge sharing, networking and electronic commerce - but also noted that poverty, lack of access to telecommunications infrastructure, language barriers, computer non-literacy, and illiteracy, hamper women’s use of ICT, including the Internet.

In the years since Beijing, international awareness has developed rapidly. Since 1995, women have taken their concerns directly to national governments and global telecommunications bodies. Women’s participation in the regional and global preparations for the five-year review of the BPFA helped to build a network of women concerned about gender and ICT issues and policies.

In November 2002, the UN Division for the Advancement of Women held an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Information and communication technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women. Participants produced numerous examples of how marginalised women are using ICTs for their own empowerment, but noted that these examples are sporadic and not widespread enough. Furthermore, apart from the internal barriers felt by many women, such as fear of technology, lack of self, that restrict their use of ICTs, gender-specific structural barriers reinforce women’s lower usage of ICTs compared to men. These barriers include inequalities between men and women at decision-making levels that constrain women’s participation in shaping the role of ICTs as a development tool. Women’s marginalisation from ICTs also meant that they benefit less from the educational and employment opportunities that may become available through ICTs, as well as access to health systems and other social services, thus perpetuating and deepening existing gender inequalities.

Given the potential of ICTs in development and social transformation, it is essential that we address the gender digital divide. The aim is both to ensure women’s access to the benefits of ICTs, and to make ICTs into a central tool in women’s empowerment and the promotion of gender equality.

Obstacles, Gaps and Challenges:

Convergence of traditional media and new ICTs has been recognized as a potential force for leveraging and expanding political, social and economic spaces in increasing individual agency and public participation at all levels. Among women users, women’s organizations were the first to maximize the new online spaces to mobilize support, widen networking and advance dialogue on women’s rights and empowerment, as well as effect changes. However, calls to regulate the internet without proper consideration for its implications on women’s political advocacies in environments that are not particularly conducive to women, can mean risk losing these online spaces that can provide political, social and economic leverages.

In addition, ICTs are still very much a luxury which women can hardly afford and face obstacles in accessing and using these because of women’s triple burden (time constraints). Technology is still very much seen as a male domain, hence women are socially conditioned to accept the general justification that “women just aren’t interested in computers/technology” and/or don’t have the head for it. Because of such obstacles, the internet is not normalized as a primary source of information for women. In addition, language barriers exist where English predominates, and women still remain one the most disadvantaged in terms of educational and computer literacy.

Emerging Issues:

ICTs has often been referred to by development experts and activists on the ground as just a tool. However, it has facilitated the creation and forging of important political, social and economic empowering spaces for women. Spaces of engaging and networking that requires greater protection and monitoring by women’s groups so that filtering mechanisms and censorship are not used in the context of terrorism and issues of national security to infringe on the privacy, security and human rights of the individual, particularly women.

New regulation such as the Cybercrime Convention signed in 2001 by members of the Council of Europe and being taken up by other governments in the Asia-Pacific region threatens the use of the internet for social campaigning and advocacy. The Convention which was drafted in a closed and secretive manner without the participation of civil society organisations, lacks privacy and civil liberties protections, does not contan provisions for protection for political activities, and gives police invasive new surveillance powers.

Key Issues identified:

The ICT sector is relatively an infant sector for many developing countries in the Asia Pacific region and yet it has already started perpetuating and duplicating gender inequities and inequalities in terms of its allocation, use, design and ownership. Women continue to have limited participation and access to decision-making in the telecommunications industry and in governing bodies that influence media and ICT policy at the global, regional and national levels. The absence of a critical mass of women results in a lack of gender analysis of media and ICT issues and policy. Women continue to experience barriers in accessing new ICTs, participating in technologies development and policy-making as well as safe and equitable employment in these industries. The development paradigm must move out of the “either-or” mentality in promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality if development efforts are ever to become more people-centred rather than driven by technology and cost-efficiency.

Evidence of a serious gender gap, gender discrimination and gender inequality in the ICT sector are demonstrated in the continued under-representation of women and girls in science and technology education and employment, in the socio-cultural factors that marginalize women’s access to ICT in relation to men and in the over-representation of men in ICT related government institutions and ICT companies of men in ICT related government institutions and ICT companies

Furthermore, the potential benefits of ICTs is being minimized given the way women are being integrated into using ICTs as consumers primarily, and not as producers of information, and designers of the technology and in how these are applied in communicating.

Finally, while there are calls to curb the use of the internet in trafficking and pornography, women’s groups who work on violence against women’s issues have also found the space to be conducive in providing anonymity to concerned citizens who would like to report and inform on incidences of VAW.

Recommendations:

On Advancing Universal Access for Women

· Develop gender-aware universal access policies stressing public access points as an alternative to more capital-intensive choices (one line/home) and ensure that locations of public access points are gender-sensitive (e.g. not in bars or auto shops).
· Develop universal access policies amount telecommunications regulators that promote access for women such as:
· An independent regulator can compel profit-driven private sector players to deliver on social and gender policy objectives such as universal access.
a. In return for granting licenses, regulators can compel service providers to provide service to underserved areas where women predominate.
b. As regulators have the authority to set service priorities, there is a need to ensure that service to poor women in rural areas is a priority.
c. Regulators can provide funds for research, development and testing of technology that will serve women.
d. Those that secure licenses, particularly for cellular phones, are often required to fulfill community service obligations. Elements to ensure gender equality could be written into these obligations.

On promoting Economic Empowerment of Women through the use of ICTs

· Enabling legislation for e-commerce should encourage women entrepreneurs.
· Encourage SME ICT and communications businesses, with possibilities for ownership by women and women’s groups.
· Telecentres can provide economic opportunities for women; they should be promoted for business development, with consideration for women owners.
· A number of telecommunications licenses should be allocated to women-owned businesses.
· Training programs could be promoted to establish ICT-related business opportunities (e.g., e-commerce, telecenters, wireless company ownership)

On Ensuring that Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment are Addressed in National ICT Policies

· Integrating gender analysis in national ICT policy frameworks and policies
· Building government’s commitment to the advancement of women for their ICT plans
· Promoting gender responsive E-governance
· Policymakers and state actors need to be made aware of the specific issues related to differential impact of ICT on women and men with emphasis on agencies involved in telecommunications, science and technology and state entities that are directly involved in developing and implementing national ICT policies and strategies.
· Need to build constituency among gender advocates about the importance of national ICT plans for women’s empowerment and gender equality.

On Strengthening the Strategic use of ICTs for the Advancement of Women’s Rights

· Strengthen networking and collaboration between gender and ICT groups and groups working on issues of violence against women and the girl child.
· Promote a holistic ICT strategy that is people-centred, takes into consideration the realities, life and needs of women and ensures that development is not limited to new ICTs but should include all communication tools for the benefit of women.
· Strengthen networking among women’s organizations and other NGOs, who have worked particularly well and effectively with ICT in social, economic and political mobilization.
· To ensure that women’s rights to a secure online environment that is safe from harassment, where freedom of expression and privacy of communication are protected are not threatened by new regulation of the internet.

Source: AP WNSP