ITU Regional Workshop on ICTs for Women’s Empowerment in the Arab Region Kuwait, 5-6 October 2011 The role of ICTs in promoting competitive advantages for Arab women By Hanane Boujemi

ICTs Opportunities for Arab Women The advantages of ICTs use for Arab women expand to cover three aspects:  Education  New job opportunities  Creation of entrepreneurial opportunities for Arab women

Education ICTs Can help Arab women improve their educational background ICTs tools are useful for distance learning and training It helps to access educational material of the field women are interested It guarantees the ease of access to information in general

Job Opportunities  ICTs skilled Arab women can find jobs easier and quicker  It helps women to work flexibly to balance between their work & family  Thanks to ICTs the home based working mom is more practical.

Women Entrepreneurs  ICTs provide better networking and information access options  ICTs can offer new business opportunities and expenditure in the market  It can empower the position of Arab women in the business field as equal contributor in the local economic development of their countries.

Arab World Context ICTs solve the issue of women’s unavailability to travel on weekends/evenings due to their family responsibilities Self-employment is a feasible option for low- income or rural Arab women if they use ICTs especially in informal sectors

3 Pillars Rule Arab women empowerment through the use of ICTs can be achieved if they acquire the following: Knowledge Access to information Networking

The end result Financially independent Respected Equal contributor in economic development

Thank you