Download Woman and ICT - World Bank Group

Woman and ICT
Samia Melhem
Sr Information Technology Specialist
The GICT Group
US Studies on woman/ICT
• Educating Girls in the new computer age
– Number of woman in hightech declined
– Woman do not do technology (17% only take math /
engineers/ CS tracks)
• Media Metrix/Jupiter study (51% in 2000, 30% in
96)- Used for marketing
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Between 99-00, 35% growth
Marketing race to attract women/girls
70% of purchase decisions
Health, chat, email, fashion
• Internet and American Life Project
High Tech jobs in US
• 8% of woman in Mgmt Board(13% for other
fields)
• Glass ceiling. Man / Geek culture
• Much better than elsewhere
• Woman VIPs tend to fund/encourage IT projects
for children/young girls/woman (HP einclusion,
Xerox, IBM K-12, Motorolla, MS, Silicon Valley
Tech Summits for girls)
– Increasing # woman in key IT positions
– Helping woman become more IT aware
– Encouraging girls in science/IT careers
US versus Developing nations &
MNA
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Enormous Inequality in flow of global Inf.
Digital Divide
Gender Divide
MNA specific issues
Internet Usage: Linked to
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Gender
Race
Education
Income
Geographic location
Occupation
Access
Culture
Content
Banking/Financial environment
Can be addressed with
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Community centers
Tele-centers in rural areas
After school/night educational programs
Cybercafes
Using / renting time from a public
infrastructure provider
• Small pilots addressing specific needs
MNA Gender issues for Internet
Usage
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Woman status in society
Education
Income
Geographic location
Occupation
Culture: Fear of loss of control
Access: Public Places
Content: Fear of opening-up
Information / communications as a threat and not
as an enabler
Woman/ICT Specific activities
• Target Educated woman
• Cisco and Economic Commission in Africa
– Cisco academy training, 30 graduates a year,
Certification and guaranteed high income employment.
– Entrpreneurship training
• UNDP and Cyberforum in Nouakchott
– Civil society, special programs and web sites for
woman and HIV information
• Various USAID/US State Department and EU
educations projects.
• Michigan State University Multi-lingual Africa
Library project (Senegal)
Woman in ICT projects in MNA
• Generally depressed market (ME conflict) with
some exceptions. Maghreb doing well
• USAID funding some educational projects in
Egypt. Targeting children in general.
• TA (NZ) to evaluate IT education (IFC)
• IFC investments in software companies: 70% of
developers are woman (Egypt)
• Proposals (WB&G orphans, Web princess)
• RITSEC Dist Learning: Leadership skills for
woman (Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan)
Need for Targeted Programs
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Focus on children/mixed teams
For young girls (the earlier the better)
University woman advanced IT skills
Inclusive (family approach)
Content development in Arabic
Marketing financial benefits of IT careers
Discussion and Next steps
• How can the WBG help
• Sector Strategy Paper
– Gender and ICT annex
• Grants : Not enough, do not seem to like girl
projects. Not innovative enough
• Full fledge projects
• Introducing IT education for girls /woman as a
component in Education portfolio
• Other Suggestions