FEMALE AWARENESS LEVEL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA by Ighoroje Ahbor Dolly A. (Dr)* and Ajayi Olajire Bosede (Mrs)+ University Of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria SUMMARY All over the world, especially in developed nations, old socio-economic boundaries are breaking and new forms are evolving and in this very complex dispensation Information Technology (IT) has developed and improved to a great extent. Very many new systems e.g. computer based communication systems, information networking systems, electronic media (television and radio) etc., have evolved to very high standards that have greatly improved dissemination of information and communication thereby reducing the world to a global village. Unfortunately developing countries like Nigeria have had little improvement in IT growth for a variety of reasons, the most important of which are poorly managed economies and overdependence on government sponsorship. Only a very insignificant proportion of the society mostly private individuals have updated ITs. Among all sectors however very few women are involved in IT related careers, the majority of women are totally left out for various reasons. This paper looks into the awareness level of information technology by women and elucidates reasons for the observed trend. INTRODUCTION Information technology (IT) is the term used to describe technologies which record, store, process, retrieve, transmit and receive information.(1) It embraces modern technologies such as computers, facsimile transmission, micrographics, telecommunications microelectronics etc. Early forms of IT included the use of talking drums, cave drawing, fire and smoke signals, mechanical accounting systems etc. These early forms were basic and very discrete unlike the modern forms which are integrated. Modern IT as we know it arose from the need to integrate all the discrete older forms thus, forming a total concept. In Nigeria IT is often misrepresented by many to mean mass communication or simply telephones. This misrepresentation apparently accounts for the lack of knowledge about IT. Nigeria is user oriented and any contact with IT simply means the utilization of IT facilities. There is hardly any orientation towards design and production of IT facilities because there is a general apathy towards technological growth. THE POPULAR CONCEPT OF IT IN NIGERIA RURAL CONCEPT As mentioned earlier although most urban dwellers have been in contact with some basic forms of IT they appear to be totally ignorant when IT is mentioned to them. Their concept of IT is mass communication, telecommunication (telephones, telex and telegrams). This perception is of course very narrow because IT is all encompassing. IT has existed in Nigeria in its primitive form from time immemorial when jungle drums, cave drawings, smoke signals etc. were used for communication between villages, communities and hamlets. Other basic forms used then were town criers who conveyed information and announcements within a community. Passing on of information from one household to another was also a means by which information was disseminated. Some of these older and primitive forms of IT are still relevant in some communities especially the rural communities due to their overall slow pace of development. the impact of modern technology is therefore hardly felt in these communities and in extreme cases these technologies are not even accepted. Because of the high poverty and illiteracy levels it is sometimes very difficult to effect changes in the philosophy and attitudes of rural dwellers towards technological growth. There is overdependence on governmental interventions which are grossly inadequate or even non-existent in some cases, such interventions as educational support at all levels viz. primary, secondary, tertiary and provision of the necessary infrastructure like constant electric power supply and a reliable telecommunications network. URBAN CONCEPT In the urban centres modern ITs have replaced the older forms to which most people are accustomed. There are now computers, facsimile transmission, micrographics, microelectronics, telecommunication etc. Although many urban dwellers are familiar with televisions, radios, telephones, typewriters etc. they hardly associate them with IT. It is difficult sometimes, to really grasp their concept of IT which they sometimes only associate with telecommunication. Modern IT is utilized mainly by the few rich private individuals and organisations who can afford them. The few government parastatals and departments who have IT facilities poorly manage and maintain them. They are most often handled by incompetent and untrained personnel and are inappropriately stored in very hot, dusty and humid environments with fluctuating power supplies. As a result, government owned IT facilities break down quickly and are usually underutilized. For a country that is mainly government controlled therefore there will be very serious impact of IT on the people in general and on the women in particular. AWARENESS LEVEL OF IT IT awareness we would define here as the knowledge of IT technology and itÍs sub systems. 100 women and 100 men were randomly selected from various backgrounds (married, unmarried, illiterate, highly educated, professionals, non professions etc) and were administered with questionnaires. They were also orally interviewed depending on their reaction to our approach i.e. questions not in the questionnaires were usually asked depending on how they reacted to us. Their ages ranged from 15 years to 55 years. They were asked to state (1) their maximum educational qualification, (2) their present status in the society, (3) what information technology was (4) if girls should be in information technology and related careers (with reasons) (6) unsuitable careers for girls if any (with reasons) (7) why few women appear to be in IT and related careers (after being told what IT was). From the survey it was obvious that IT awareness level in Nigeria is generally low. Amongst men those who knew what IT meant outrightly were 40% only 2% women fell in this category (Table 1a). This seemingly low level obtained amongst women in particular is highly deceptive because of the degree of misconception of the meaning of IT. By misconception we mean having the wrong notion of what IT is but not totally ignorant. The word technology seemed to have very masculine connotations and elicited a negative reaction at the first instance. So when asked Owhat is IT? the initial response got from the women was always OI donÍt knowO. The women in turn often asked the interviewer the same question. the responses obtained for why fewer women appear to be in IT and related career were very varied and interesting. They reflected the fact that a lot of people especially the women misconceived IT and had stereotyped images of who should be involved with IT. 10% of women and 3% of men interviewed said they did not know of any reasons at all why few women appear to be in IT and related careers. Interestingly the highest qualification of these groups of men and women was primary 3, others did not have any formal education. 29% of females and 45% of men felt that IT was too tedious and strenuous for women. They said that although the word ÒinformationÓ sounds feminine ÒtechnologyÓ is masculine and therefore scares women off. A cocktail of other reasons and opinions were also expressed. Some women felt that IT is male dominated and since men fair better in technical and mechanical areas women will not fit in. IT they feel is too technical, too dirty, too time consuming, too masculine and therefore women are not qualified or interested in taking up IT related careers. Others felt that IT will over expose girls to western styled life and hamper their chances of marriage. Since their culture does not allow girls to mix freely with their male counterparts or to feel that what men can do they too can do. Men they believe are heads of the families and should command respect instead of being threatened or competed with. The expected role of the women is to raise children and maintain the home and any deviation from this will hamper her efficiency in the home. Other more absurd reasons were that women will go mad if they read too much, will be harassed and therefore should not bother to even get university education. Women are not supposed to wear trousers and to avoid doing that should stay away from IT related careers. Some women even insisted that they would rather spend their money to educate their sons rather than their girls so that their family names would not be lost. All these reasons given indicate the level of ignorance even amongst some well educated women about IT and related careers. Admittedly some of these views are borne out of the stereotyped image of girls and science, maths, engineering and technology in general. There were some more reasonable responses such as, modern IT was still very new in Nigeria and needed some more time for people to become aware of it. Since mathematics and physics in most cases are basic prerequisites for IT training most girls become too scared of it. DISCUSSION Even though IT has been in existence in its primitive form in our culture and even though majority of urban dwellers have at least come in contact with on known one or other IT facility, there appears to be a high level of ignorance and misconception about IT amongst Nigerians. Women appear to be more ignorant even though a lot of them are in constant touch with one form of IT or another. For example a lot of urban women are found as secretaries, telephone operators, radio and TV broadcasters etc and have been exposed to typewriters, computers, telephones and the likes. Most often they do not understand even the basics about these facilities which they just operate. They are not enthusiastic to know about the technicalities of the facilities they use because they feel that, that aspect is OmasculineO and uninteresting. They cannot afford to be seen to indulge in masculine Opast timesO, some therefore even when exposed and even when competent enough to take up IT and related careers choose not to. The word technology itself cannotes masculinity and therefore evokes negative reactions and attitudes from them. The apparent high level of ignorance may thus be because a lot of these women do not seem to associate modern IT with already existing forms of ITs. For example most urban dwellers have seen radios, televisions and telephones yet they do not relate them to IT at all. Modern IT as it currently is admittedly is alien to majority of Nigerians simply because they are unaffordable and therefore unavailable. Only an insignificant number of the very rich are therefore exposed to modern IT. Rural dwellers including the females are more likely genuinely ignorant about modern IT. This is because they most likely never have been in contact with even basic forms of IT due to poverty, illiteracy and very low level of development. They do not have basic amenities like electricity and portable water supplies. Inadequate governmental policies, poor implementation of projects, corruption, etc., have deprived even the few rural communities from getting these facilities. Rural women are further handicapped because they are less likely to migrate since they have to manage the home and do the majority of the day-to-day menial jobs, thus further limiting their chances of being exposed to IT facilities. They are also inhibited by socio-cultural practices, taboos and norms and are less curious and adventurous. They form the larger percentage of the total female population, are mainly illiterate, have very little authority and cannot influence their childrenÕs career choices. A lot of problems confront women about modern IT the most obvious ones being (1) lack of awareness and ignorance about IT and (2) socio-cultural stereotyping of the roles of women in the society. Therefore to reverse the docile feminine attitude towards IT and to stimulate interest in IT, to increase IT awareness level and encourage participation in IT and related careers; Women should be educated and enlightened about modern IT. They should be exposed more to modern IT. Policies should be formulated to encourage participation in IT and related careers; for example; more IT training centres should be established, females in particular should be encouraged by award of bursaries and scholarships to deserving girls who want to go into IT and related careers. Women should be encouraged to discard all their acquired stereotypes about female OmasculinityO, that is, the idea that for venturing into some stereotyped careers e.g. engineering, IT etc. they will be stigmatized and labelled masculine. The men also should be encouraged to discard the male superiority concept and learn to accept women in the so called Omasculine areasO as normal people. Modern IT should be taken to the rural population in order to expose rural dwellers and particularly rural women to it. Parents should be encouraged to discard gender stereotypes about career choices and encourage their girls who are competent enough and are willing to take up OmasculineO careers in general and in particular IT, and related careers. REFERENCES 1. K. Behan and D. Holmes (2nd Edition), Understanding Information Technology, Prentice-Hall Australia, 1990. 2. Telecommunications Training Programmes 1993. (NITEL).