As more and more people become connected worldwide, information and communications technology (ICT) optimists anticipate that the technologies will overcome barriers of geography and distance, providing opportunities within national and across international boundaries for users to have instant access to relevant knowledge and information. Most industrialized countries and some developing countries already are providing many e-government services to their citizens, often with positive outcomes.
According to the U.N.’s 2005 Human Development Report in the high income OECD countries, 480 of every 1,000 residents have access to the Internet. In the developing countries, access drops to 53 per 1,000 residents and in the least developed countries it drops to four per 1,000 residents. Given these vast disparities, it is unlikely that e-government will be a realistic option for large numbers of people in the developing world for years to come. Inexpensive and reliable connectivity is crucial and in many developing countries the cost of Internet access is still prohibitively expensive. Since late 2001, Asians have become the largest Internet user group in absolute numbers, but the most populous countries in the region (China, India and Indonesia) have relatively low Internet user densities. Africa has the lowest Internet use density, especially outside the urban areas. In all of these regions, ICT use by women is much lower than that of men. Some reasons are explored below.
- Lack of gender analysis
Many telecommunications regulatory agencies both in the North and in the South have given insufficient attention to gender analysis, with the result that existing regulatory structures are posited on the assumption that men and women have equal access and similar needs. Recognizing this lack of gender analysis, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) issued “gender aware” guidelines in 2001. The wide ranging guidelines urged for the involvement of women and gender analysis in all aspects, including human resource development, training and licensing activities, but there is no way of gauging the extent to which the guidelines have actually been implemented. Many regulatory agencies have focussed on universal access and rural communications services, but few have looked at the basic issues of availability, accessibility and affordability from a gender perspective.
In countries where e-government services are beginning to be offered, this does not necessarily equate with the civic empowerment of women. For real empowerment through e-democracy, local people must have the opportunity for input and feedback on government policies and this feedback must be integrated into the policymaking process. Many factors can effect the participation of girls and women.
- Sex-disaggregated data.
Effective gender analysis is dependent on the existence of reliable figures on the comparative use of ICTS by men and women. Such data exist, at least partially, for the industrialized countries, often compiled by marketing research companies but there is no single consistent source of information about the use of the Internet in developing countries. A 2001 study of 560 users in Sri Lanka found that the vast majority of users were male, below 56 years and had a relatively high level of education. Similarly, a Ugandan study of Internet Café users in Kampala found that the typical user was a 25- year old single male with no children and at least secondary school education. Eighty percent of the users were aged below 30 and 60 percent said they also had other sources of access. This suggests that Internet Café users are among the most privileged sector of the population. Such small scale research studies are useful but they do not substitute for the lack of rigorous national-level data.
- Local languages and local content.
The lack of content in local languages also makes the Internet less attractive to women in developing countries. Since women are often less educated than men, they are less likely to be able to access the Internet in English, French or other metropolitan languages. Some local languages are now being transcribed onto the Internet, but there are often problems with standardization and attendant difficulties related to the use of sounds and characters that cannot easily be recognized by the computer. It is clear that it will be necessary for governments to offer services in national languages, if e-government is to become the norm. This will require considerable investment, both financial and in terms of human resources.
- Local content is another critical issues.
Most proprietory software that has been commercially developed, is not available in local languages and cannot be adapted for local use. The use of open source software provides a solution to this problem as it can be translated into local languages and adapted to include local content. The government of Brazil has set an example, by publishing guidelines for the use of open source software in government
- Fragmented services.
In some developing countries, interactive e-government sites are becoming common. For example, in India citizens can access passport applications, registration procedures, school examination results, trade guidelines, telemedicine, customs information and land records among other services. However, as a general rule in the developing world, e-government projects tend to be based in single departments or ministries and to be supported by donor funds. Even in cases where civil servants have access to computers, they do not necessarily have the skills to use them effectively. Early experience shows that effective e-governance initiatives must be part of an overall strategic plan, which is often difficult to implement with donor funding.
Use of ICTS by Women in Developing Countries
In developing countries, the primary users of computer-based ICTs are members of the elite, who have both the necessary skills and financial resources. This is not true of cellular phones, which have been adopted widely by men and women of every social class in countries where they are available at a reasonable price. The widespread use of cellular phones suggests that poor people, men and women, will use communications technology if it is affordable and has immediate relevance to their lives. Indeed, poor women have even become ICT entrepreneurs when the opportunity presented itself, as in Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank’s Village Telephone project where poor women have been assisted to purchase cellular phones and then sell phone calls to local people. Similarly, in Senegal, many women have become proprietors of small teleshops that offer telephone services to local customers.
The involvement of women as consumers, especially of computer-based technologies, has been much slower. This has created an important barrier to the delivery of e-government services to them. In most developing countries, people gain access to computers through offices or through public access points such as Internet cafes, public kiosks or telecentres. Multipurpose telecentres have become common in many rural areas, offering not only Internet access but also a wide range of other services including fax, telephone, television/ video, libraries and often computer training. Most telecentres charge small user fees but this creates an additional barrier for poor women, who usually have less disposable income than men and frequently do not have decision-making rights over use of family income.
A strong enabling environment must be put into place to ensure that girls and women become full participants in e-government activities. This must cover all aspects of policy, training and accessibility. Gender analysis must be undertaken at the design stage of e-government programs because the directions in which the services will move, will definitely be effected by the inclusion of gender concerns. However the inclusion of women and girls in e-government is likely to occur only if at least some of the following factors are in place:
- a strong commitment by national government to e-government services are designed in such a way as to be available to all citizens;
- telecommunications policy frameworks that ensure that the needs of girls and women are part of the national structure;
- ICT training for girls and women;
- affordable connectivity and safe, convenient centers where women can use computers (telecenters, post offices, community centers, etc.);
- clearly designed content in local languages; and
- feedback mechanisms that allow women and girls to have input into e-government
This is not an exhaustive list but simply reflects some of the issues that should be considered by national governments as they begin to design e-government services. It is evident that unless gender analysis is given careful attention, women and girls are less likely to benefit from such services.
Autor/Author: Eva M. Rathgeber, Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's Studies, University of Ottawa/ Carleton University
Quelle/Source: eGov monitor, 07.06.2006
