Empowering women through the Internet
Women have been left behind on the technology ladder. Particularly in developing economies, they’re trailing men, creating a digital gender gap. However, wired women - with access to the Internet - have a tool for empowerment.
High-speed Internet access should be a basic human right
The United Nations has deemed high-speed Internet access to be a basic human right. South African policymakers would do well to take note. Without widely available, cheap Internet access, SA will drop out of the knowledge economy and women will remain the worst off.
Research shows that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, a country achieves a 1% growth in GDP and a 1% drop in unemployment. That is strong motivation for getting more women and men on to the web.
As SA’s gender statistics show, entrenched cultural norms mean that the balance remains tilted in favour of men. Women are worse off in key areas like education, literacy, employment and income. And there are fewer digitally savvy women.
Intel’s recent global survey, Women and the Web, found that across the developing world, close to 25% fewer women and girls are online than men and boys. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women online is almost half the number of men.
The Internet can increase women’s income potential
The Intel report shows that access to the Internet empowers women by boosting income potential:
- Some 80% of women used the Internet to improve their education,
- Around 45% used the Internet to search and apply for a job online, and
- One-third used the Internet to earn additional income.
Access to the Internet increases women’s sense of empowerment. More than 70% of women considered the Internet liberating and 85% said it provided more freedom through bringing an understanding of cultures beyond their own and exposing them to role models outside their community.
Rising IT exposure has led to more female entrepreneurs
Understanding information technology has led to more entrepreneurial ventures started by women, using communications based on their cellphone. This has catapulted women from the ranks of the unemployed to those running small businesses, or growing to employ staff, thereby empowering themselves and their communities.
There are some great success stories. Chikondi Chabvuta was recently selected by the Mail & Guardian as one if its top 10 talented Africans. A 25 year-old woman in Malawi, Chikondi is passionate about empowering women farmers and educating young women. She uses digital technology - webcasts - to put young girls in her community in touch with inspiring role models in Malawi and across the world.
Closer to home, in Bushbuckridge, Mmpumalanga, Diana Mashudu Khumalo – an 80% aggregate Grade 12 student – uses her Blackberry to access research on the Internet, something that was otherwise impossible in a rural school that lacks library facilities.
There are some encouraging trends. Broadband access in South Africa has more than doubled in the past two years, with most new users accessing the Internet via mobile devices. But this still represents a low 11% of the population.
The Internet and education go hand in hand
Exposure to technology - along with maths and science - at school level as a foundation skill has been long appreciated. Education is the key. Education, work opportunity and pay equity are inherently linked.
Delegates at the World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in Cape Town argued that SA needs to improve its information and communications infrastructure and increase the level of ICT education. SA’s lack of ICT readiness means the economy is not benefitting as much as it should be from technology on the socio-economic or skills front. And it’s losing out because it’s tapping the resources of less than half of its potential workforce.
Lack of education limits opportunities for women in the workplace, relegating them to lower paid jobs. In Nordic countries - where 100% literacy for both sexes was reached several decades ago - gender parity in education follows. The gender gap has been reversed and women make up the majority of skilled workforce.
To catapult South African women into the forefront of ICT and reap the benefit for women and for the country demands a concerted effort from everyone – from government, business, universities and schools through to families and individuals.
Encouraging girls and women to become Internet savvy and make the most of their online research, education and networking opportunities are a great place to start.
