Gender, information technology and rural development: an overview Nancy J. Hafkin Presentation to World Bank GENRD Brown Bag 12 November 2003

GENRD-World Bank2 Starting assumption  ICTs can and do make an important contribution to agricultural and rural development

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank3 The challenge...  To make it possible for poor rural women to use ICTs in ways that improve food security, provide sustainable livelihoods and improve the quality of life in rural areas.

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank4 Information and rural women  Information can empower rural women to participate in decision making, exchange ideas with others in developed and developing countries and improve the quality of life of the people of Africa  Hilda Munyua

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank5 Why consider gender?  The “greatest good”  Women are the majority of the population in rural areas of most developing countries  They are highly significant in food production- “without women we all go hungry-” Kenya proverb.  Consideration of their involvement is a quantitative imperative

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank6 The business case  Development projects that take gender into account are more likely to achieve their objectives than those that do not (World Bank)

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank7 Elimination of poverty  Women’s empowerment is a central precondition for the elimination of poverty  Addressing gender issues addresses poverty  ICTs address the concomitants of poverty:  lack of access to education and health services  Lack of productive opportunities  Lack of information and isolation

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank8 The equity argument  Gender equality is integral to a human- rights based approach to development  Third Goal of United Nations Millennium Development: promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank9 ICTs are not gender neutral  Substantial gender differences in access to, impact of ICTs  Few women users in developing countries  Most women users in developing countries part of small, educated urban elite

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank10 Gender issues in ICT and rural development  Lack of infrastructure is a gender issue  Poorer infrastructure in rural and outlying areas  More women live in rural areas than men  Urban bias in connectivity deprives more women than men of the universal right to communicate

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank11 Social and cultural issues  Women have lesser access than men to those facilities that do exist  Women have less time to visit public access facilities  Facilities may not be located where women are comfortable frequenting  Hours may not be conducive to women’s use

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank12 Gender bias towards women and ICTs  Fewer women in science and technology  Attitudes that information technology is not for women  Other cultural aspects limit women’s access

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank13 Education and skills  Women less likely than men to have the requisite education and knowledge  Literacy  Language  Computer skills  Information literacy

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank14 Other gender issues  Financial resources  Content  Statistics and indicators

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank15 Some possible applications  Improved communications  Improved access to information  Economic, social and political applications

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank16 ICTs might fill agricultural extension gender gap  Most agricultural technology transfer agents male  Only 5% of extension services go to women  Only 15% of extension agents are women  ICTs can focus on content related to subsistence crops, food security

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank17 Some Gender, ICT initiatives  Benin Microfinance  Bankilare Niger  DTR-Federation African Media Women- Radio Listening Clubs-  Nakaseke Telecentre CD-ROM-Rural Women in Africa Ideas for Earning Money  Dimitra-

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank18 More initiatives...  Honeybee Network-India  Self-Employed Women’s Association- India  Gyandoot/Daar-India  Fantsuam-northern Nigeria  Moutse Community Radio Station-South Africa

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank19 Gender lessons from ICT projects  Technology empowers, but also affects and alters gender relations  Gender is everywhere: no project without gender issues  Women emerge from project participation with greater knowledge, self esteem  If you don’t ask for gender, you don’t get gender  Need for pro-activity to ensure participation of both men and women

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank20 How to get women into projects:  There have to be guidelines and procedures  Gender-goals have to appear in objectives  Competent gender analysis needs to enter from beginning of project design  Monitoring and evaluation statistics must be disaggregated by sex  All projects need to be reviewed for gender issues

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank21 Engendering policy  Insufficient to stop at engendering projects  Neither gender, nor ICT are in rural development plans and strategies!  Must be done at policy level to ensure women included  Needs to be considered in ICT policy, agricultural development policy, technology policy and gender policy

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank22 Ensuring women’s inclusion- how to do it?  Work in the policy arena  Technology will take care of some access problems (wireless access)  Inclusion of ICT training in training and education projects for girls and women  Train young women from communities at community centers  Develop role models  Improve girl’s and women’s education in Africa

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank23 Gender, RD, ICT resources  ICT for Rural Women:  information list of resources, events and organizations on how women can use ICTs to support grassroots productive enterprises.  information on productive technologies, prices, markets and small enterprise support.  appropriate technologies;

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank24 ICT for Rural Women (cont’d)  appropriate software packages and training women how to use them.  extension services;  linking new ICTs with other communications media;  strategies for scaling up and replicating pilot projects;  documenting best practices Subscribe:

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank25 More resources...  ISNAR Briefing Paper 55, Gender and agriculture in the information society  g/bp55.htm  2002

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank26 CTA Observatory on gender and ICTs for agricultural and rural development  Impact of ICTs from a gender perspective  Tried to identify ways in which ICTs can help to empower rural women in ACP countries.   Wageningen, The Netherlands September 2002

12 November 2003GENRD-World Bank27 Priority areas for gender, ICTs and agriculture (CTA)  Mainstreaming gender. Ensuring participation of poor rural women.  Policy. Gender equity in national policy on rural issues and ICTs.  Access for rural areas.  Content.  Capacity building.