The purpose of this paper is to, demonstrate that perceptions of non-takers towards ICT are largely based on enduring stereotypes with little foundation in reality. Women play an integral part in the ICT sector because they are also involved in the work environment. It is through the ICT sector that women scientists have grown with time. Technology is also important in access to education and work. This makes it important for women to understand ICT and its role in the access of information. Women must be encouraged to venture into ICT because it is through this sector that they will be able to exploit their potential fully in developing society in all other sectors. Education must complement ICT access in order to provide value to the technology. Technology is vital in the current society because it is through technology that women and men gain access to education. Also, lifelong learning provides a new formula to allow women to move out from the bottom of the career path and move to mid-level and top-level leadership positions. It is the basic right of the girl child to be educated in order to participate effectively in the knowledge society. The ICT sector is important in workforce development. Since women are also involved in the contemporary workplace, the ICT sector must also include women as part of its workforce. Women should therefore develop skills beyond basic literacy and usability to become creators, developers, designers, and innovators using ICT as a tool in that process.
Introduction
The current society in the developing world is still holding onto the culture of discriminating against women even in the work environment. It is therefore not surprising to find some aspects of male dominance in most of these societies. The number of illiteracy in women in these countries is still high despite the fact that many of these societies are struggling to come out of the cultures. There is the aspect of negative attitude against women’s education and against the achievement of women in the society in the developing world. This is one of the reasons why women’s achievement in science and mathematics has continued to face resistance from these societies. Women across the world enjoy a lower degree of economic security than men and face gender-related constraints on their time and mobility. It is important to note that ICT is an integral part of gaining access to information. It is therefore imperative for women to engage in information technology in order to enhance social and economic gain.
IT is a unique and timely opportunity for women in the entire world. IT promises better economic prospects, fuller political participation, communication with the outside world, easy access to information, and an enhanced ability to acquire education and skills and transcend social restrictions. IT is important to all women because it can provide increased access to resources. The absence of IT actually defines poverty. Since women play an important role in poverty eradication, IT can help them enhance their socio-economic growth. It is, therefore, appropriate to say that IT can be more beneficial to women in poor countries than in developed countries. This is because women in developed countries have access to an abundance of alternatives. IT is therefore a powerful tool that can help women interact and get access to information and development strategies. It is therefore important to gender-neutral decisions about infrastructure and how it can impact women’s opportunities to use new technologies (Buskens & Webb 2009).
Women, education, workplace, and ICT
Studies have shown that women are underrepresented in ICT careers and when they are represented, they are primarily in stereotypical roles. However, women still manage to access and succeed in ICT-related careers because of some interrelated factors. The social environments in which the women live directly affect the way women will relate with men in the work place. Socioeconomic status is also an important factor that will enhance behavioral norms in the female population. Thus, female children who have been brought up in a middle-class economy will have greater chances to participate in the fields that are male-dominated like IT. It is therefore important to identify the fact that positive parental attitudes towards girls. This enables girls to grow with confidence and vision in life that goes beyond marriage and offering care and support services at home and in society at large. Good parental attitude towards women will empower girls from their early stage through their adult stage (Moore et al. 2008).
It is worth noting that there are a number of factors that are responsible for enhancing women’s’ participation in the ICT sector. One of these factors includes parental support. Parents who have a positive attitude to their girl children will enable these children to be exposed to various ICT fields. This will give the female child a sought of autonomy in the choice of profession since they become more confident. The specific nature of such upbringing is considered the basis for their self actualization and sense of empowerment to the girl child (Buskens & Webb 2009).
Women’s role in the workplace
Self motivation is also another factor that can affect the accessibility and success of female children in the ICT sector. In a study done in Kenya, the correspondents, who were female students, cited personal motivation and focus during training and work as the biggest players that helped them to venture into male dominated subjects. There are a number of factors and characteristics that can connect to the success of women in the ICT sector. Individuals must understand these factors and transform their thinking, practice and perception of the role women play in the society in general. Women must also understand the vital role they play with regards to participation in the ICT sector. They must therefore be able to break the gender stereotyping regarding the roles of women and men in the society. This will give them the ability to venture into male dominated careers. Women must therefore connect their success in the ICT sector and their sense of empowerment with the principles and guidelines they use in their work (Atwoti & Owusu 2008).
It is therefore important for women to have a vision which is a professional dream. They should be focused and follow their dreams, women should have the right skills and be confident in order for them to succeed. Commitment to work and to succeed, fighting for career space, being dynamic, working hard, and taking risks should also characterize women in order for them to compete effectively with their male counterparts. Women should see gender not as a barrier but as an opportunity. They should continuously seek for more knowledge and skills and stop being bogged down by the thought of marriage at the expense of building a career. Women must go for what they want career wise without being prohibited by gender stereotyping. This means that they should be able to challenge the existing gender stereotyping and discrimination in the society and in the ICT environments I particular..
Women’s advanced ICT education and lifelong learning to ensure a healthy economy and community
Education must complement ICT access in order to provide value to the technology. Technology is vital in the current society because it is through technology that women and men gain access to education. Also, lifelong learning provides a new formula to allow women to move out from the bottom of the career path and move to mid-level and top level leadership positions. It is the basic right of the girl child to be educated in order to participate effectively in the knowledge society. The ICT sector is important in the workforce development. Since women are also involved in the contemporary workplace, the ICT sector must also include women as part of its workforce. Women should therefore develop skills beyond basic literacy and usability to become creators, developers, designers, and innovators using ICT as a tool in that process.
Many developing countries have small numbers of highly educated women engineers who are unable to get jobs because they are women. It is therefore imperative for the governments of these countries to device systems and to enact policies that will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurship training to develop the innovative solutions identified by women needed for their communities. Many developing countries are currently enacting these kinds of policies. For this reason, more and more women are finding themselves working in the ICT sector in such countries. Access to information and knowledge in rural areas has a significant impact on women‘s social and political participation and women’s economic empowerment as agricultural producers. Women can therefore use ICTs and the internet to access the agribusiness supply chain and promote their products for better sales.
Women can also be agents of national, regional, and international change through ICTs. For instance, in Pakistan, Dr. Shahida Saleem, who chairs Sehat First, has brought together her medical knowledge with ICTs to create a customized national health care system that meets the needs of Pakistanis in their communities (Melhem et al). Also, by consolidating national and sector policies, women can more effectively contribute to economic growth as well as serve as agents of change for political moderation and productivity through ICT. A review of a variety of best practice frameworks in ICT implementation calls for a supporting regulatory and policy environment and a participatory mode of working with women. It is worth noting that ICTs fundamentally change modes of organization, management, production, and distribution, and by extension change modes of employment. For this reason, it is through ICT that women can find another useful channel through which they can get access to education and work environments.
The household, women and ICT
There is a close relationship between gender, ICT and development in the contemporary society. For this reason, the totality of women’s working lives requires close examination. A lot of research that has been done in the gender and labor sector has emphasized the need to redefine work as all kinds of labor both in the formal and informal sectors and unpaid domestic labor in the household. Since domestic chores still remain the responsibility of women even in contemporary society, many women still find themselves sacrificing their careers. It is worth noting that familial units are changing due to the response in shifting social aspirations and greater acceptance of varied sexual identities and to the absence of parents.
The ICT sector, a component in the labor market is also affected by gender factors. Since few women have some choice of flexibility, only those with stronger bargaining positions such as income or robust extended networks are the ones who can determine their own interests and also their children’s interests. Domestic structures and practices are some of the major factors that contribute toward unequal gender relations both in the household and in the employment field. Cultural variance affects women in various different ways. For instance, when people strive for economic survival, they tend to move towards productive cities or countries. This migration factor leaves women to bear the brunt.
Many ICT sectors have risen above the domestic and cultural sector to employ more women in their organizations. One of these ICT sectors is the telecommunication industry. One of the reasons that make them employ more women than men is the flexibility factor that is present in the industry (Gillard et al. 2008). Most women internet users in developing countries are not representative of women in these countries as a whole but, rather, are part of all, urban, educated elite. In countries where the internet is used primarily by urban elite, women are well represented. But as GDP rises, the overall dominance of men edges the percentage of female use lower. It is therefore important to understand that women’s access to IT is constrained by a series of factors.
Female stereotyping
Gender equal access to ICT is actually improving with time. With tremendous improvement in female education, the world has continued to record an increase in the number of women in the ICT sector. As a result, female illiteracy has gone down significantly. In the Arab countries for example, female illiteracy has continued to decrease with the increased enrolment of female students at education levels. For instance Oman, a country that boasts one of the lowest female illiteracy rates in the gulf region, had an illiteracy level among the females at 23.8 % in the year 2005, compared to 33 % in the year 2000.
Table 1: Percentage distribution of Omani Population by educational status and gender
The main factors that will bridge the gender digital decide in the contemporary world are improved understanding and awareness of gender challenges. The world should also be able to recognize the many numbers of opportunities that ICT could provide to the female population. Cultural norms present in certain countries should be abolished in order to enable the female population interact well with the male population in the school and work environments. For instance some Arab countries still practice particular cultures that prevent women from interacting with men. These cultural norms discourage interactions between women and men outside the family, and women, in particular older ones, may be uncomfortable in situations where men are present either as trainers or peers. There must therefore be an awareness of these social-cultural and institutional barriers. This will make the process of decision making more efficient because it creates a good working environment and designing of facilities that encourage women to participate in various sectors (Elnaggar 2008).
Female stereotyping has caused mixed feeling with the world’s employers. One of the reasons is because women are believed to be more organized and more dedicated to their job than their male counterparts. Women are also meticulous, precise, and persistent in what they do. These attributes have gained consensus among employers the world over. It is therefore appropriate to say that a lot of good qualities have been attributed to the female worker. However, it is still disturbing to find out that the female worker, despite of all the good quality she possesses, is seldom a decision maker. This discrimination is present n the employment stage because it emanates from the culture of the society (Malhotra 2004). This stereotype also runs within the sphere of the ICT work place. Many female students will find themselves doing software related and IT training jobs. It is important to note that this discrimination occurs amongst the female population. For instance a research into this field elucidated that 73% of Bachelor of Science degree female students prefer software-related ICT subjects in which they are enrolled in. some of the subjects include programming and system analysis. Information system management is also one of the subjects most women would prefer to do in their studies.
Conclusion
The importance of women in the ICT sector can not be quantified. It must be noted that the presence of women in the ICT sector also promotes their presence in science. In the recent past, there have been many projects that have been brought about to enhance the increase in the number of women in the ICT field. Many organizations are coming up to support the efforts of women in scientific fields, ICT being one of them. It is worth noting that there are a number of factors that are responsible for enhancing women’s’ participation in the ICT sector. One of these factors includes parental support. Parents who have a positive attitude to their girl children will enable these children to be exposed to various ICT fields.
Studies have shown that women are underrepresented in ICT careers and when they are represented, they are primarily in stereotypical roles. However, women still manage to access and succeed in ICT related careers because of some interrelated factors. The social environments in which the women live directly affects the way women will relate with men in the work place. Socioeconomic status is also an important factor that will enhance behavioral norms in the female population. Many developing countries have small numbers of highly educated women engineers who are unable to get jobs because they are women. It is therefore imperative for the governments of these countries to device systems and enact policies that will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurship training to develop the innovative solutions identified by women needed for their communities. Women can also be agents of national, regional, and international change agents through ICTs. For instance, in Pakistan, Dr. Shahida Saleem, who chairs Sehat First, has brought together her medical knowledge with ICTs to create a customized national health care system that meets the needs of Pakistanis in their communities.
References
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Buskens, I. & Webb, A. (2009). African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. New York: Zed Books.
Gillard et al. (2008). Missing Women: Gender, ICTs, and the Shaping of the Global Economy. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Elnaggar, A. (2008). Towards Gender Equal Access to ICT. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Malhotra, M. (2004). Empowerment of Women: Women in Rural Development. Delhi: Isha Books.
Moore et al. (2008). Gendered Futures? Women, the ICT Workplace and Stories of the Future. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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