7.Recommendations and Guidelines

From the case studies and the examples of women's ICT activity, several general themes emerge which should guide the framing of activities designed to support and encourage women's participation in the use of ICTs.

7.1 In planning ICT systems for women, the following general issues need to be recognised:

• Women's information needs do not concern only the passive reception of information.

  Women have scientific and technological expertise and knowledge which should be made more accessible. They also have specific concerns and perspectives which need to be integrated into ICT systems as well as into information systems for sustainable and equitable development.

• Participation in ICTs represents an important opportunity for women's empowerment.

  The ability to communicate their perspectives and concerns is a central empowerment issue, both for publication of their concerns and perspectives, and for access to information and education that will promote women's consciousness-raising. Further, the decentralised, interactive and non-hierarchical nature of these technologies present a non-threatening space for women to develop their views, opinions, benefit from the synergy of interactive communications with women. In addition, once the initial costs of access and technology are covered, ICTs present a low-cost and relatively simple mode of publishing newsletters, articles, statements, etc.

• Women need to define and develop their own ICT systems from the beginning.

  The experience of other communications media indicates that if women should be actively involved in the definition, development and information in the new technologies in order to create a space that is conducive to the discussion of their concerns, represents their perspectives and abilities in a non-threatening, non-stereotypical manner, and addresses their concerns. Incidents of negative stereotyping, discrimination against women and sexual harrassment are already evident online.

• New strategies for ICT implementation, delivery and use need to be implemented to encourage women's use of ICTs. They will need to include mixed-media and mixed technologies, locally-based distribution systems, and housing in organisational and sectoral contexts which fit with women's daily responsibilities and cater to their time constraints.

7.2 In order for women to benefit most from use of ICTs, and, therefore, for them to be able to use ICTs to the fullest, the following barriers to women's use of ICTs will need to be addressed:

• Literacy

  The high rate of illiteracy among African women means that ICT projects will need to be integrated with literacy education in many areas. They will also need to implement strategies that will allow illiterate women to both receive and produce ICT information, e.g. through women's NGOs, and other information distribution systems.

• Cost

  Cost issues of ICT access especially effect women. They are generally lower paid than men, and often do not have control over their income. Their family responsibilities, e.g. health and education of children are the primary priorities for the income they do earn, so that often there is little left for other less-immediate needs. Women also do not have as much professional access to ICTs as men.

• Education

  Women generally have lower levels of education than men, less access to training, and less opportunity to learn the skills necessary for ICT participation, including basic technical skills, technical repair, and language training (for those whose first language is not English).

  Training in ICTs for women will need to be gender-sensitive, and offered by women trainers as much as possible.

• Women's Time

  Women's scarce time resource mean that ICTs need to be incorporated into other activities and projects to empower women, and must be specific and active enough that women can see a tangible benefit from their use. ICTs should improve women's abilities to more effectively fulfill their existing productive and reproductive obligations. As well, training and use of ICTs will need to be flexible enough fit in to women's daily schedule. Ongoing, advocacy, networking, support and empowerment activities and projects should be facilitated through access to and active contributions to ICTs. Physically this means that ICTs should be located in contexts and organisations which support the sectors and activities which women have indicated are their priorities, e.g. women's NGOs, health centres, educational institutions, self-employment and entrepreneurial centres, and perhaps even churches. Conceptually this means that information needs to be tailored and targetted to women's specific concerns.

• Comfort level regarding ICT use

  Women are unacquainted with ICTs and uncomfortable with using them. They need to be supported in learning to work with, and to feel confident of their ability to use these technologies productively. As a result, they need more initial encouragement and training at the beginning and are less active in learning the new technologies...though once having learned the skills they work very effectively."

7.3 With these overarching concerns in mind, the experience of African women with ICTs so far indicates the following guidelines and recommendations to facilitate women's use of, contribution to and full benefit from ICTs.

• Cost and technology (including ICT training)

  - Support programs to provide hardware, modems and online access to women's NGOs and women's centres in organisations and institutions which are embedded in appropriate women's support and distribution systems.

  - Support implementation of ICT technical training programmes for women, and women's access to higher-level training in technical expertise and repair services.

  - Examine the role that existing local and national level women's NGOs can play in ICT distribution, training and support, in partnership with technology providers.

  - Ensure appropriate ongoing followup technical support and training.

  - The APC experience has found that women have a need for women-specific training, free training, links with ongoing user support, and mentoring (women supporting women) in communities.

  - Lower-cost and lower-maintenance networking technologies should be examined. Network computers which perform the simple functions of email, World Wide Web browsing and word processing could be an important means to increasing women's ICT access. For example, New web servers are now available which use only 500K RAM and are extremely simple to use also have the potential to increase women's presence on the Internet.

  - Internet-focused vs FIDOnet online strategies should be used wherever possible, to increase the range of ICT activities and international links.

  - Training and workshops on proposal writing and language, style and methodologies that are generally accepted by donors and agencies.

  - Build on the expertise and development of the APC women's programme in ICT training for women.

  - Work with and support groups which have been identified as seeking Internet access and who are unable to achieve this due to cost, infrastructure or other institutional problems.

• Information distribution and production systems

  - Work with women's groups, women leaders in ICT and target" groups and individuals to define information systems that support women's concerns and situation and which are designed to support their daily productive and reproductive activities.

  - Support the design, development and maintenance of mixed-technology approaches, including:

  • designation of a central network node
  • systems of two-way delivery of information between nodes and women's groups
  • incorporation of different levels and kinds of communication technology, from WorldWide Web to email to paper distribution to oral dissemination.

  - Develop flexible, rural-based delivery systems to enable access for women in both rural and urban areas.

  - Build ICT systems around women's areas of concern, to allow for production and delivery of focused, applicable information relevant to women's needs (see 3.5 below).

  - Focus on email-based information systems, including document delivery, and mailing lists, which could be linked to a WWW server.

  - More information is needed on women's use and access patterns at local-level telecommunication centres as opposed to women's groups, for example.

  - Local telecentres should have female technicians and personnel on staff.

  - Encourage and support women's NGOs to work with technical providers to ensure appropriate implementation and delivery systems, as well as long-term support.

  - Explore the potential for developing the capacity of women's NGOs to deliver and support ICT use on a long-term basis.

  - Technical training, access and delivery systems, and technical occupational arrangements should be flexible to adapt to women's schedule and her childcare responsiblities.

• Education

  - Support of ICT training and related necessary skills, including literacy, typing, and English language skills in local women's employment and entrepreneurship centres.

  - Support of training in WWW coding and searching.

  - Provide technical training that encourages innovation, flexibility, and problem solving skills.

  - Explore the potential of the uses of ICTs for women's education, through distance learning, CD-ROMs and other ICT-related opportunities.

  - Develop school curricula that encourages girls to enter technology and science related areas. e.g., the Gender and Science and Technology Assocation (GASAT) has regional Africa members who can be consulted for strategies and curricula information on science education for girls and women; the Forum for African Women Educationalists is another resource.

• Encouraging awareness and use of ICTs

  - Increase women's awareness of the potential benefits of ICTs.

  - Sensitise leaders of women's NGOs of the benefits of using ICTs.

  - Increase confidence concerning women's abilities to work with and productively use ICTs.

  - Programmes to encourage women's use of ICTs should focus on and encourage women's active contributions and interaction, in terms of production of information for dissemination, using online conferences to organise and mobilise, etc.

  - The organisation of ICT interaction around topical themes encourages the development of cross-sector and -class coalitions.

• Supporting the fulfillment of women's responsibilities

  - Literacy training and related computer skills should be incorporated into projects to improve or develop women's already existing productive and reproductive activities.

  - The specific, more concrete focus of thematic ICT activities provides tangible benefits of participation. Women can then better afford to invest their own time and energy in these activities.

  - Existing and emerging women's initiatives indicate areas of priority for women's ICT participation:

  • Health information and advocacy for women and children (especially concerning reproductive rights and AIDS)
  • Women's rights and legal frameworks supporting these
  • Education for women and girls
  • Research and training
  • Business and entrepreneurship information
  • The Gender Working Group report to UNCSTD calls attention to the need to break the isolation of women in science in developing countires through building networks of support for women in science. Electronic networking among women scientists is gaining momentum in other parts of the world; African women scientists should be encouraged to establish their own networks, and link up with international networks.
  • The importance of ICTs for food production and natural resources management has been highlighted. As natural resource managers and producers of much of the subsistence food in Africa, women's concerns should be especially considered in the development of these information systems.
  • Facilitation of regional and international links with other groups active in these theme areas, including the many electronic initiatives of African women expatriates abroad, and of women in other parts of Africa, i.e. Western Sahara, groups in other regions, and Canadian groups.
• Kinds of ICT information which are needed by women:

  - Gendered databases in every sector listed above

  - Compilations of resources, information and databases for specific issues, accessible over the WWW and via email, i.e. through online document ordering

  - Establishment of mailing lists, electronic conferences, listservs, etc. to foster cross-sector and cross-class discussion, moral and technical support and strategising among the following groups of women:

  • ICT trainers, technologists and educators/introducers, at national and international levels, including South-South and North-South links. For example, local, national and regional listservs and networks could be linked into the global support network developed by the APC Women's Programme.
  • women in health research and advocacy
  • women's rights
  • food producers, natural resource managers
  • expansion of beginning networking among African women lawyers and legal rights advocates
  • science and technology practitioners, at university/research, applied and indigenous S&T levels

  These listservs should link up for contact with or distribution of information from groups outside of Africa. As indicated by the experience of the Reproductive Alliance, these listservs should be less for general discussion purposes, than as providers and promoters of the development of specific and useful information. Support the compilation and production of regular thematic digests" or newsletters containing information on activities, organisations and publications of groups in each area.

• Policy

  - Support of individuals, organisations and approaches to incorporate gender analysis and perspectives in policy research and recommendations for African internet connectivity and systems.

  - Promote participation of women in the planning and implementation of major Africa Internet initiatives.

  - Research to determine the state of national level ICT policies and the degree of involvement of women in the process of its development.

  - Gender analysis of national ICT policies.

• Areas of research which emerge from this survey:

  This survey is just the tip of the iceberg. Many women's ICT activities are just beginning to emerge on a large scale. A sourcebook similar to the model of the IISD Sourcebooks, on Women's ICT Activities in Africa, would be a valuable resource for education, networking, and developing strategies. It could include a directory of organisations and activities, models of ICT use and development, strategies for obtaining and disseminating information and technology, etc., and could be regularly updated.

  - Further research and surveys among African women ICT providers, trainers and organisations on needs, perspectives, areas where support is most needed, and strategies to encourage women's contributions to ICTs.

  - Further research and surveys among Africa women's groups concerning what their information and ICT acesss concerns are.

  - Research and examination of local, regional and national cooperation among women's groups, access providers, agencies with training expertise, etc. to develop appropriate ICT delivery and access strategies for women.

  - Research on curricula and teaching materials to encourage girls and women to enter ICT professions.

  - Research on the potential use of ICT's in the area of women and market trade.

• Collaboration with other initiatives

  The UNDP Sustainable Network Development Programme (SNDP) has a strong Africa focus. Although it does not have an official women's component, the Director of the programme has sent a letter to each focal point specifically calling for the contributions of women in every part of the programme. Acacia should explore with SNDP collaboration and coordination of strategies to support women's networking.

  APC Women's Programme in Africa (see Case Study 7).

  There should be further exploration and research into strategic collaborations with programmes, institutions and agencies working to improve ICT use and access in Africa;strategies of developing input into these processes, and bringing in relevant regional women practitioners and women's networks and organisations.

  Partnerships with women's initiatives and groups in other parts of the world, to support ICT development for women in Africa, and to encourage the spread of the women's movement internationally:

  • thematically, on areas outlined above
  • with Canadian groups (several are listed in Appendix 2)
  • with groups from other regions, such as "ModemMujer" and NEWW-Online of the Network of East-West Women.

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• List of Experts
• References
• Case Studies