Gender and ICTs

Gurumurthy seeks to address the issue of gender and information communication technology (ICT) in this 58-page report. She poses three main questions which the report seeks to answer: "Who benefits from ICTs? Who is dictating the course of ICTs? Is it possible to harness ICTs to serve larger goals of equality and justice?

The report is broken down into four areas: an overview of information on gender and technology; the meaning of ICTs; the ICT's key players and politics; and an analysis of how gender has featured in the information society debate. In section two, Gurumrthy covers inequities found in the ICT arena, and the gender dimensions of these inequities. Section three covers the potential for ICTs to promote women’s rights and empowerment, and Section 4 offers concluding remarks on possible directions for engendering the ICT arena.

One of Gurumurthy's beliefs is that "the ICT system is organised on elitist, patriarchal, techno-centric, non-democratic lines and based on capitalist values." Based on this premise she suggests that gender politics needs to "question these values and search for ethical alternatives... and "this calls for synergy between a new bottom-up culture of ICT production and use and the reengineering of the global ICT system that will guarantee sustainable changes towards gender equality."

In her report, she suggests that "a more inclusive, democratic and gender-just information society is possible only if the multiple actors in the ICT arena commit to work in coordination, cooperation and collaboration." She points out that both policy and programmes should be seen "as processes which allow learning from trial and error, and create spaces for the engagement of different social groups." "Civil society actors, including NGOs and CBOs committed to gender equality, need to build their own capacities, develop perspectives, lobby with government and business, participate in national and international ICT policy-making processes and build constituencies among a wide cross-section of society on the role of ICTs for the promotion of gender equality."

In conclusion, Gurumurthy says, "developing a shared vision of a world information society that contributes to human development based on agreed principles including women’s human rights, is a long-term undertaking. Strategic wisdom needs to inform future action, particularly in the renegotiation of gender relations through ICTs. A dual strategy of gender mainstreaming and targeted intervention, as laid out by the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, is needed. Effective interventions call for sustained commitment from women and men within the ICT arena, and outside."

This report forms part of the BRIDGE ‘Cutting Edge Pack’ on ‘Gender and ICTs.’ Click here to download the reports from the website for free.