gender

This paper prepared for the Expert Group Meeting on “Information and communication technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women” in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 11 to 14 November 2002, contains suggestions from the Asian perspective about possible points of intervention from which to build up the gender and ICT agenda in the national policy terrain, including developing gender and ICT indicators, integrating gender analysis in national ICT policy frameworks and policies, building government’s commitment to the advancement of women f

The purpose of this toolkit is to identify opportunities, highlight innovative projects and activities, and suggest how development agencies can help realize the potential for gender equality. The toolkit can help these agencies assist developing countries in improving the efficiency and equity of their ICT policies and programmes by ensuring that they respond to the needs of both women and men.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been increasingly promoted as a key solution for comprehensive development, poverty eradication and the empowerment of historically disadvantaged groups, such as women and minorities in the Global South. ICT-based business initiatives, and e-commerce projects in particular, have been hailed as “potential goldmines" for women’s empowerment.

This paper argues that ICTs as a form of new technology are socially deterministic, with varied implications for women in terms of employment and empowerment dependent on the context within which the ICTs are utilized. The paper presents findings from two ICT initiatives in South India showing significant impacts on women's employment, income and social roles. One ICT initiative - 'gender-blind' and pursued within the globalized, competitive context of an increased role for markets and 'flexibility' - has generally reinforced gender inequalities.

This report is an evaluation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust (WST) radio project Afghan Woman's Hour (AWH). Broadcast since January 2005, AWH seeks to empower women by broadcasting programming on gender issues in the two main languages of the region, Dari and Pashto.

This report provides an overview of the gender distribution of ICT and ICT-related employment in OECD countries, and ICT employment patterns are contrasted with overall employment to highlight differences. The authors discuss participation in ICT-related education and training, and differences in ICT access and use by gender. In ICT-related employment, women have low shares of ICT-specialist employment and these shares rarely show an increase.

In this study, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) examines technology initiatives – ICT initiatives in particular - that have enabled women to develop their economic potential, become stronger leaders and more effective contributors to their families, communities and domestic economies. Specifically, these efforts helped women increase their productivity, create new entrepreneurial ventures and launch income-generating pursuits.

The video provides snapshots of the critical issues discussed at the Gender Perspectives on the Information Society: South Asia Pre-WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Seminar. This seminar took place in Bangalore on 18-19 April 2005. It was organized by IT for Change in partnership with Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era and Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, with support from UNDP's Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme and UNIFEM.

This book is a collection of case studies about women and their communities in developing countries and how they have been influenced by information and communication technologies (ICTs). It notes that ICTs and policies to encourage their development can have profound implications for women and men in terms of employment, education, health, environmental sustainability and community development.

This study analyses data, surveys, a market sizing model, and expert interviews to report on mobile phone use among women in low- and middle-income countries. The study finds that women are 21% less likely to own a mobile phone than their male counterparts, a figure that rises slightly in the Middle East and Africa and rises to 37% in South Asia.