On April 26, 2012, ITU sponsored “International Girls in ICT Day” in six African nations – one of which was Mali. (We actually weren’t aware of Mali participating in the event until we found this video.)
The initiative, launched by with the purpose of raising awareness of the importance of involving girls in ICT fields, was a great success. Thousands of girls across the world (and at least dozens across Mali) gained the confidence needed to pursue a male-dominated career.
Orange Mali, as local sponsor, held an open house for Malian girls interested in ICT. They even put together a robust video documentary of the event. Although the audio is in French, the visuals speak for themselves.
Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is a measure designed to directly capture women’s empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector. The WEAI aims to increase understanding of the connections between women’s empowerment, food security, and agricultural growth. The index is the product of a partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) of Oxford University, in support of US President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative to combat global hunger and poverty.
Rural women farmers are increasing their use of ICTs, a recent project evaluation for Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) revealed. The project, “Enhancing Access to Agricultural Information” began in 2005 with the goal of developing and improving information and communication systems to provide access to agricultural information for rural women farmers via a variety of ICTs including mobile phones, radio cassettes, and community radio. A five year evaluation of the project indicates that not only had ICT usage increased since inception, but the range of reasons why the rural women farmers used ICTs had broadened to include access to market information, reach out to agricultural extension workers, and participation in community radio shows as panelists and by calling-in.
We have seen evidence over and over again that investing in women and girls is one of the most direct and effective ways to produce economic and social progress. We have also seen how information and communication technologies (or ICT) have accelerated the pace of change by introducing efficiencies, opening new markets, and creating technology-related jobs. Now, imagine the tremendous possibilities that can arise from empowering women with ICT. The promise is real, though there are a number of challenges to navigate.
RapidSMS is a SMS-based (text message) framework that manages data collection, complex workflows, and group coordination using basic mobile phones — and can present information on the internet as soon as it is received. So far RapidSMS has been customized and deployed with diverse functionality: remote health diagnostics, nutrition surveillance, supply chain tracking, registering children in public health campaigns, and community discussion.
Women are important actors at multiple levels of the agricultural value chain as unpaid family workers, wage workers, traders, and entrepreneurs. According to recent estimates, women comprise 43 percent of the agricultural labor force worldwide. This percentage however, masks regional variations and differences across and within countries. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia they make up 60 percent of the agricultural labor force (FAO 2011). Given this high rate of participation, it is clear that harnessing women’s full potential would have a significant impact on agricultural growth.
When the US government wanted to make sure its global hunger and food security initiative Feed the Future was having a positive impact on women in the countries it was serving, it called on IFPRI to help. The result is the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), an innovative tool that was collaboratively developed by IFPRI, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), and the US Agency for International Development.
Social Innovation for Women is a Marrow Foundation funded initiative hosted at the ICE Hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the EiABC campus of Addis Ababa University. This is a project of the Center for Creative Leadership www.ccl.org and an extension of Leadership Beyond Boundaries www.leadbeyond.org We are thrilled to see these amazing women from the EiABC campus of Addis Ababa University stepping out into this new leadership adventure!
The mission of Social Innovation for is to provide humanitarian investments to emerging social entrepreneurs whose ideas hold promise to improve the lives of women, girls and families in Ethiopia .
Judith Owigar is a co-founder and president of Akirachix, a revolution for African women and technology. She is a coder, a blogger and a tech enthusiast. Through Akirachix, women who are interested in technology come together through the activities of networking, mentorship and training. Akirachix works with women who are tech professionals, university and high school students. Akirachix also runs a training program that gives basic tech and entrepreneurship skills to girls from poor urban areas in Nairobi.
She says: "Technology will drive development in Africa through techpreneurship, giving people a platform to speak and even making African government more transparent and accountable to their citizens. As Akirachix we want women to be a part of this revolution. African women make up less than 15% of the work force in technology yet they are greatest contributors to the African economy. In order to exploit technology and find better and more diverse solutions we need to have more women driving the technology revolution in Africa."
Connecting Rural Women to the Internet: Is it Worth It?
UN Report Women and agriculture in pacific islands
A village in India last year banned unmarried women from using mobile phones for fear they would arrange forbidden marriages. The village council suspected young men and women were secretly calling one another to arrange to elope. Meanwhile, unmarried men could use mobile phones under parental supervision.
As mobile penetration increases across the developing world, the entry of mobile phones in the hands of women causes reactions. In many cases, mobile phone ownership empowers women in myriad ways: economic gains, increased access to information, greater autonomy and social empowerment, and a greater sense of security and safety.
But, there is a darker side. Targeting women with mobile phones can cause changes in gender dynamics and family expenditures and may relate to increases in domestic violence, invasion of privacy, or control by a male partner.
This article will look at the pros and cons of targeting women with mobiles in the developing world. Part One will highlight the current landscape and identify some of the benefits of mobile tech for women. It also includes a brief discussion on some the challenges and barriers. Part Two of this series gets at the darker side and identifies some of the potential dangers in targeting women with mobiles.
"The relationship between women, their empowerment and the use of ICTs in Africa is complex; there are no simple summaries or solutions."
Ineke Buskens and Anne Webb, Editors of the Book
New Report from SPIDER: Empowering women through the use of ICT
Ever seen a local pepper seller having a web site or a local meat seller having a domain name? Your answer will definitely be No. But not anymore! This is because Grassroots Women Empowerment Through ICT (GWEIT) an initiative of Women in Technology In Nigeria (WITIN) a non-governmental organization, saddled with the responsibility of improving the lots of women and girls in the Nigerian society with Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is changing all these.
They have come up with a programme aimed at empowering Nigerian Woman economically; addressing equity issues with regard to gender disadvantaged groups as well as those in the rural and underserved communities through the use of ICT and to give their businesses outstanding web presence.
Gender issues and ICT -- there is no one answer to ensure equity for women and men in ICT says Claudia Morrell. Stakeholders must encourage all projects and individuals that attempt to bring about equity as there is no one solution to the challenge.
Women who live in rural areas are at a particular disadvantage in the digital world — facing multiple barriers related both to gender and location. Given their central role in the agricultural economy, for example, rural women often have too much work and too little time to become familiar with these new technologies. And with their special responsibilities for children and the elderly, women typically cannot migrate as easily as men to towns and cities where training in the new technologies is more available.