Why support ICT for gender empowerment?
There are a few facets of ICT and gender empowerment that are worth exploring.
According to the United Nations, women who have access to information and communication technologies (ICT) are better able to access education, jobs, and healthcare services, as well as financial services. Mobile and internet technology can ensure that African women become more financially independent – this on a continent in which almost 25% fewer women than men have access to the internet, with the gender gap standing at as much as 45% in regions like sub-Saharan Africa.
However, these advancements can only occur with meaningful access to ICT, which depends on factors like affordability, skills, security and more. Women’s economic empowerment is a key focal area in the Sustainable Development Goals – SDG Goal 5 sets out to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls – and ICT is a tool that can accelerate women’s progress. This tool needs to be accessible to women to advance gender equality, particularly on the African continent.
When it comes to education, women and girls are increasingly encouraged to acquire STEM and ICT skills, which will afford them access to better-paid jobs. However, many girls and women lack guidance or mentorship in this regard. In a future in which 90% of the available jobs will require ICT skills, girls cannot afford to fall at the first hurdle. Schooling is important, but it is perhaps even more important for girls to see themselves represented by high-profile women in STEM and ICT careers. Gender stereotyping sees fewer girls pursuing STEM subjects – a challenge that can be overcome with the right strategies.
Furthermore, supporting women who are interested in working in ICT makes good economic sense – there is evidence to support the idea the gender diversity in the workplace reaps rewards like improved company performance and greater innovative capability. In societies that discourage women from playing a major role in the workplace, the benefits are less clearly realised. This is unfortunate because companies that favour gender and other diversity tend to be better run, more open to ideas, and more inclined to nurture talent.
According to the UN’s International Labour Organization, companies that employ women (particularly in management positions) report significant profit increases, while countries that employ more women achieve better economic growth (nearly three quarters of companies surveyed reported profit increases of between five and 20 percent). “Companies should look at gender balance as a bottom-line issue, not just a human resources issue,” says Deborah France-Massin, who heads the ILO’s employers’ activity bureau.
The ICT sector can play a key role in empowering women economically by creating business and employment opportunities and developing ICT-based tools that address women’s needs or are run by women (like literacy programmes, business planning courses, e-commerce initiatives and more). However, government needs to prioritise infrastructure, mobile technology, and similar enablers to create an ICT ecosystem that can deliver sustained benefits to women.
Models of intervention
Investing in women in agriculture
Women account for 43% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, and more than 50% of the agricultural workforce in most of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region. The so-called ag-tech revolution has the potential to drive the economic empowerment of women farmers. It does so by providing them with access to information and enabling them to be part of the agricultural value chain. It also helps to train those women who have not received formal schooling or agribusiness training.
Examples and evidence for investing in women in agriculture
- This 2016 publication by UN women, ‘Technologies for rural women in Africa‘ explains how can technology can be used to assist rural women in agriculture.
- In 2019, Vodacom launched the Women Farmers Programme in partnership with UN Women and South African Women in Farming (SAWIF). The programme aims to transform the face of the smallholder agricultural segment in South Africa and equip women from underprivileged backgrounds with the digital skills they need to participate meaningfully in the mainstream economy.
Gender and financial inclusion
‘Fintech’ can play a key role in closing the gender gap, particularly in developing economies, where four in ten women do not have a financial account. Digital financial services like mobile money and e-commerce platforms can play a role in equalising access for the unbanked, particularly women entrepreneurs.
Examples and evidence: gender and financial inclusion
- This 2019 report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ‘Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa‘ outlines some of the measures the G7 intend to take to narrow the gender gap in finance, including supporting African governments, central banks and financial institutions as they set out to build more inclusive, sustainable and responsible digital financial systems.
- This 2016 publication by Making Finance Work for Africa, ‘Gender and Financial inclusion: Analysis of financial inclusion of women in the SADC region‘ shows that the gender gap prevails even in countries with the highest financial inclusion. South Africa is the only country with a positive gender gap, that is, women being more financially included than men – mainly driven by women receiving social grants through SASSA cards.
Addressing Gender-based violence
Technology solutions can help to fight against the global scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) ICTs and digital technologies can be leveraged to prevent, mitigate and respond to GBV, with GBV survivors, women and girls able to access tools and platforms that enable them to access support and information from a wide variety of institutions.
Examples of technology-based interventions addressing gender-based violence
- GIS mapping technology used to fight Covid-19 should be used to fight gender-based violence, argues social development standing committee chairperson Gillion Bosman.
- Microsoft South Africa and NPO partners 1000 Women Trust and the TEARS Foundation launched the Safe@Home Hackathon to help create and develop technology-based solutions to help survivors of gender-based violence as well as vulnerable women and children.
Supporting girls and women in STEM
According to the World Economic Forum, only a third of female students choose to study higher education courses in subjects like math and engineering, and only around 30% of the world’s researchers are women. These interventions promote equal opportunities for women in STEM, ensuring that their educational and training options are not limited.
Examples of interventions supporting girls and women in STEM
- The Future of the African Daughter (FOTAD) project aims to change the lives of girls aged 12 to 19 years in townships and rural areas by providing maths, science, ICT and life skills. The project is run by ICT-Works a 100% black-women-owned and managed company.
- In 2005, the Department of Education and UNICEF established the TechnoGirl mentorship programme for high-school girls between 15 and 18, from disadvantaged communities across all nine provinces of South Africa, who are doing well academically. In terms of this programme, they are offered mentorship in STEM subjects and receive university or college scholarships. TechnoGirl promotes STEM careers and helps to break down gender stereotypes.
Enterprise development and entrepreneurship supporting women in ICT
Technology can play a significant role in empowering women entrepreneurs, driving innovation and helping to incubate SMMEs. Tech makes entrepreneurship more accessible and provides women with the knowledge and skills they need to take their businesses to the next level.
The 4Good Programme promotes women innovators in South Africa, giving them the knowledge, skills and expertise they need to grow, sustain and scale their businesses. It provides them with a better understanding of technology and the digital realm, enabling them to disrupt local markets using innovation and strategy.
