What role can information and communication technologies (ICT) play in women's aspirations? How can ICT advance their hopes for economic and social development and equal opportunity in societies in developing countries? Nancy Hafkin and Sophia Huyer, both well known as authorities in this field, bring together eight experts from a wide range of backgrounds, to explore these questions and related issues in this very readable and highly informative compilation. ICTs here incorporate not only computer and internet technology but also cell phones and community radio, the latter two being of particular importance in less industrialized countries.
In the first substantive article Huyer places gender equality and women's empowerment in the "knowledge society" in a wider human development context. She provides an excellent brief historical overview of the gender-and-development debate and definitions of key concepts and perspectives. As well, she summarizes the specific donor viewpoints on women empowerment in the context of poverty reduction, as most recently expressed in the Millennium Development Goals. She launches the ensuing discussions in the other articles with the essential question: can ICTs contribute to women's empowerment? The short answer being "yes", Huyer identifies a number of successful examples in the area of economic, socio-cultural, psychological empowerment. Education, legal access and political participation are obvious additional areas where ICTs can have an enabling and/or supporting role to play.
The author then touches on some of the limitations and barriers. For example, relevant investigations have shown that ICTs are not gender neutral, that teaching tools privilege boys over girls; even software developments do not usually take account of programs and applications that would be of interest and/or benefit to women. Societal barriers and perceptions add to disadvantaging women from accessing and using the technology options. Huyer argues for appropriate and relevant content, in particular with focus on women in developing countries and in rural areas. Here access to appropriate technology can mean the difference between life and death. For example, vital health information can be communicated through local radio; up-to-date information on weather patterns and crop planting advice can ensure that families grow the right foodstuffs successfully. Training women in the use of ICTs opens up new areas for employment and economic development. The range of applications is endless and there is no shortage of ideas and initiatives among women and local communities.
Nancy Hafkin's article provides detailed sex-differentiated statistical data reinforcing some, but also challenging other, preconceived ideas of women's use of ICTs. Particularly striking is her summary of the findings that the level of access to and use of ICTs by women is not dependent on the level of ICT penetration in a given society as a whole. Increasing the availability of computer and internet technology does not result automatically in more women benefiting from them. For example, European countries fall behind the US and Canada, which have the highest percentage of women users with 51 percent, followed by Hongkong and Thailand with 49 percent. Most developing countries do not maintain such differentiated data. Nevertheless based on the research available Hafkin establishes a good overview as well as highlights many of the barriers that women confront. In her concluding section, the author introduces initiatives that have brought advances in the area of statistical analysis and the development of relevant indicators.
In the third overview article, Sonja Jorge covers the important aspect of policies and regulations applied to the ICT environment. It is essential that enabling frameworks are created in which both men and women can develop their full potential in the use of ICTs. Jorge reviews the needs at the international, regional and national levels, providing examples for each. For the national level she summarizes developments in the different world regions and it is encouraging to note that African countries like Benin and Ghana have embarked on a solid gender-aware strategies in this field. On the other hand, it may be surprising that Latin American countries, except for the Dominican Republic, have no comparable policies.
The second part of this compilation deals with different topic areas, such as education, improved livelihoods, and ICTs in social change movements and networks in some depth. Interesting and very useful is that each of the articles focuses on a different world region, highlighting a specific project or a series of initiatives. Thus the reader receives illuminating insights into different developments from which to draw ideas and lessons. Taken in its entirety the book illuminates all the important facets of the impact of information and communication technologies on women around the world and the opportunities that they offer to them and their communities. Each article contains a summarizing concluding section as well as a good notes and reference section for further study.
This book, while primarily addressing people working in the field of gender development as relating to ICT, should also of great interest to a wider audience. Thanks to the wide range of topics covered and the clear style and accessible language policy and decision makers and the broader international development community will also find it rewarding. The many examples introduced by the authors and the follow-up options add considerably to the usefulness of this compilation as a reference tool. While some potential readers might not appreciate the terms "Cyberella" and "Cinderella" of the title, this should not discourage them from getting this excellent study and read the succinct definitions by the editors. [Friederike Knabe]
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