Social and Cultural Impact on ICT Women
From Anita Borg Institute Wiki
Post-conference notes by BJ Wishinsky
This panel was part of a split session with Part of the Solution/Part of the Problem ( PartOfTheSolution). ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology. The focus was on increasing the participation and leadership of women in ICT and improving the lives of women through ICT.
Naseem Bhatti talked about the Social and Cultural Impact of ICT on Women in Pakistan. In Pakistan, a 2003-2004 study showed that 78% of the cell phones are owned by 33% of the population. One third of the population lives below the poverty line, earning less than $1 per day. Cell phones are cheaper than computers for access to news and information. Text messaging is also popular.
Cell phones make the boundaries of the home more porous. With a land line phone, the male head of household will answer the phone and screen calls. With a cell phone, female members of the household are better able to take and make their own calls and access information without screening.
Another example of ICT for Women is Thread Net Hunza (http://www.threadnethunza.com.pk/). Weaving, embroidery, carpets and other work created by women artisans are sold online.
Telemedicine is also an important use of ICT in Pakistan. The nearest hospital can be hours away, for example the 15 hour drive from Gilgit to Islamabad.
There is also a virtual university with net cafe hubs for students who don't own computers.
Dilma M. Da Silva spoke on the Impact of ICT on Women in Brazil. Brazil started a pioneering approach to ICT development in the 80s based on a market reserve policy that gives local companies the exclusive right to manufacture a significant portion of computer technology.
Most of the countryside has no Internet service providers, which is a problem the government is working on. In Sao Paolo and Rio there is free access in selected post offices (as opposed to libraries, which are not considered important). There are tax breaks for ICT development. But 55% of Brazilians have never used a computer.
There is a market for computer schools. While boys may learn computer use at home and it is considered okay for them to make mistakes that might harm the computer, many girls must attend computer school before they are allowed to use the system at home, so they won't break anything.
Income taxes are filed online, but only 5% of the population has enough income to pay tax on it.
85.4% of adult females are literate. In the countryside, the government provides a subsidy to keep children in school. Female students tend to stay in school longer than males.
44% of Brazil's Internet users are female. 20% of their software workers are women, and fewer are in the hardware industry.
