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- Chair:
-
Tanja Müller
(University of Manchester)
- Stream:
- Series D: Democratisation, authority and governance
- Location:
- GR 202
- Start time:
- 13 September, 2008 at
Time zone: Europe/London
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
to follow
Long Abstract:
ICT-driven development is a recognised poverty alleviation strategy by many donor organisations and governments. Much promise is held regarding the potential these strategies may have in enabling developing countries and the disadvantaged in particular to lever themselves onto a sustainable economic footing and participate in rather than fall outside of the global economy. Women in particular are seen as potential beneficiaries. Yet little evidence has a yet emerged to deliver these promises. Studies to-date indicate that a gender division of labour persists globally among ICT-related employment and a general lack of recognition of the link between gender and ICTs persists, despite efforts via international organisations to address this issue.
Many initiatives introduced to address these issues are aimed at reaching the disadvantaged (for instance, in rural areas) and on enabling access to ICTs. Yet little appears to be targeting disadvantaged women to become ICT shapers. Additionally some research indicates that even with a gender-focussed strategy in place, the approach used for ICT-driven interventions can have significantly different gender impacts. Without a suitable gender-focussed strategy can these initiatives reach disadvantaged women and help them to realise long-term sustainable employment?
Even considering the existing ICT workforce who are indeed enjoying a privileged position in an often boom area of the economy, it appears that the sustainable lucrative professional opportunities that ICT-driven development offers are available only to certain sectors of the population, whilst those who Castells refers to as the 4th World inhabitants risk deeper entrenchment in an internal digital divide. How can ICT-driven initiatives reach the disadvantaged and enable sustainable transformative change in African settings-that will be the focus of this session.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper long abstract:
The NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) was officially launched in 2001 with the expressed aim of moving Africa towards sustainable development. The aims set out within NEPAD include Bridging the Digital Divide: Investing in ICT, which identifies specific objectives and actions aimed at developing human resources in the ICT industry “… from which Africa can draw trainee ICT engineers, programmers and software developers.” (NEPAD 2001). NEPAD also aims to promote the role of women in society and the economy via education and training.
This paper examines the present situation regarding women’s involvement as ICT Professionals in the ICT sector in Botswana, a NEPAD steering committee member. Through its National ICT Policy (Government of Botswana 2004), Botswana has indicated at state level the intention to develop its ICT capabilities further as part of its development plans and also recognises the importance of addressing gender inequities. Whilst it is recognised that as the use of ICT in developing countries increases, the design & maintenance of fundamental ICT components will become the most valued occupations (ILO cited in Hafkin & Taggart 2001), little research is ongoing in a development context targeting women as shapers of technology as opposed to users. This is therefore an opportune moment in time to investigate how far women are currently involved in the ICT professions, and what policies are in place to ensure their active participation.
This paper argues that if we wish to ensure greater gender-equal participation as the industry develops, we need to actively promote measures that address some of the barriers African women feel they face.
Paper long abstract:
Mobile phone technologies are increasingly viewed as important enabling tools for a broad range of pro-poor services: governance, health, education, agriculture, livelihoods etc. Mobile ICTs also potentially contribute to poverty alleviation through facilitating the effective formation and utilization of social networks and social capital. Active agency by the users is also required, however, if they are to foster positive development outcomes for low-income groups. A review of the literature on technology and agency suggests that the outcomes of their intersection is filtered through socio-political constructions, capabilities and functionings to produce varying and complex benefits and costs for individuals within socially differentiated groups. This has implications for how social capital and social networks are built and accessed.. The implication is that, within this socio-political context, users simply respond to opportunities enabled by mobile phones, in other words they exhibit tactical agency. A key question, however, concerns the extent to which tactical agency can lead to strategic agency among socially differentiated groups, where it is empowering and meets development objectives. This presentation will discuss these issues in relation to gender subordination and ‘everyday’ mobile phone use within peri-urban informal workspaces in Uganda.
Paper long abstract:
The intention of this paper is to pay particular attention to the role that ICT policy and gender play in the drive for development and empowerment in a developing society. Particular focus is on Zambia and its National ICT Policy which was officially unveiled in March 2007. The paper will analyse issues of gender, development and empowerment, particularly for marginalised groups who are often women. This is in order to assess whether the goals of the National ICT Policy encourage social and economic development as well as empowerment for not only the country in general but for women in particular and to what extent this is done, if at all. The paper makes the case that as much as ICT policies are being developed and adopted in order to be incorporated into the development agendas of countries like Zambia, mere adoption without adequately addressing gender concerns within the policies themselves may not necessarily achieve the desired development and empowerment. The analysis subsequently brings to the fore some shortcomings within the policy that have not been addressed with the adequacy they deserve and which as a result, have the potential to negatively impact on women's overall development and subsequent empowerment. The paper particularly focuses on Government claims which suggest that women are important actors in ICT use for sustainable development without whom the successful diffusion and use of ICTs in the country cannot be a reality. The paper questions whether this is mere rhetoric on the part of Government or genuine belief. To gauge this, the paper examines how notions of ‘gender’ are routinely incorporated into the policy rhetoric relating to ICTs and development and then compares this rhetoric with the strategies put in place within the policy itself.
Paper long abstract:
This paper discusses how demand for, and use of communication technologies can be interpreted as being derived from a demand for information. The article demonstrates that telecommunication networks facilitate the flow of information which is then subsequently used by individuals both commercially as well as socially. The characteristic of information is therefore crucial to understanding the impact telecom technologies can have on socio-economic activities of users. The article classifies information into ‘public’ and ‘private’ (i.e. information that can/cannot be easily codified) and discusses its impact via a case study of a specific micro-enterprise.
Growth in the case industry is hampered by limited availability of public information. This type of information stimulates trade and drives innovation. At the same time the existence of information asymmetries are critical to the income generating abilities of individuals/firms in this industry. The availability of communication technologies presents opportunities for increasing accessibility to both types of information; however, the case study illustrates the need for balance between lack of (public) information that destroys an industry and the level of (private) information that maintains its viability.
Paper long abstract:
A consensus has emerged among the circles of development agencies and academics on the potential role of e-commerce in socio-economic development. Past research in the area has focused more on identifying the national level policy and infrastructure (physical, institutional, financial and technological) pre-conditions of conducting e-commerce. These pre-conditions tend to act as constraints to successful e-commerce adoption and implementation. Though more success stories are emerging in practice, there is an acute lack of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to understand how developing country firms realise e-commerce benefits amidst their national constraints. This paper uses the resource-based view of the firm to investigate e-commerce strategies among Ghanaian firms to address the above gap. Findings tend to suggest that in resource-poor contexts, first, ICTs diffuse along the path of least cost of adoption, and managerial capabilities and intangible resources, like social networks, trust and credibility, play a critical role in manner in which firms use ICTs to achieve e-commerce benefits.