THE AWORC RESEARCH WOMEN

1
THE AWORC RESEARCH WOMENS USE OF ICT
2
Objectives

• To provide a context of womens electronic
  networking in Asia-Pacific
• To share the major findings of the AWORC research

3
Context

• world conference on women was major impetus for
  women's advances in the use of ICTs
• expansion of more women women's networks using
  the Internet in their work.
• study how this trend was developing in the
  national level

4
Study the

• level of ICT use
• how ICT is used in their work
• what their training and networking needs are
• how to advance women's empowerment through the
  use of ICT

5
The Research Methodology

• rationale and design of the research was
  developed collaboratively
• a single survey questionnaire was used
• common report format was developed for each
  report
• three separate reports have also been written

6
Content

• Countries Surveyed
• Profile of womens organisations surveyed
• Overview of the information and communication
  sector
• Summary of findings
• Summary of Recommendations

7
Countries Surveyed

• 23 countries
• Asia India, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines,
  Mongolia, Japan, Korea
• The Caucuses and the Central Asia Armenia,
  Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
  Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
• Pacific Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu,
  Tonga, New Caledonia, Federated States of
  Micronesia, Solomon Islands.

8
Profiles of Organizations
9
Overview of the information and communication
sector
10
Asia

• uneven development of the telecommunications
  sector is seen in all the countries except Japan
  and ROK.
• extremes of terrain and geographical features
  have impacted on the acquisition of
  telecommunications technology and its diffusion

11

• covers all the major cities but the
  infrastructure in the provinces and islands is
  poor
• level of economic development is also a factor
  that has constrained the development of
  telecommunications infrastructure

12
Caucuses and Central Asia

• the new republics still lag behind the more
  developed industrial countries with respect to
  nearly all areas of ICT development
• national agencies responsible for the regulation
  of the telecommunications sector have been
  established

13

• most of the new republics telecommunication
  sectors are outdated and of poor quality,
  especially in regions outside of national
  capitals and major urban areas
• a slight increase in the number of women IT
  students and professionals, gender disparities
  remain extremely high

14

• technical services and support is slow and
  expensive.
• only a minority of the population is proficient
  in English, the dominant language of the Web
• the number of organizations and individuals
  regularly using the Internet is still extremely
  small with respect to overall populations.

15
Pacific

• communications structures of Pacific Island
  countries and territories are largely colonial
  legacies
• the Pacifics geographical diversity/vastness is
  a challenge in connectivity
• the Pacific Islands have been slower than other
  world regions in terms of access to and
  utilisation of the internet

16
Summary of findings
17
Asia

• Use of ICTs in Womens organisations
• ICTs not being used optimally
• ratio of computers to full time staff was
  approximately 11.
• most use administrative, email, accounting
• less use participation in mailing lists and
  on-line discussions, accessing information from
  the net, advocacy on the net

18

• Information and Visibility
• by gaining more visibility through web sites,
  having access to donor assistance, and
  information about international and regional
  activities relating to the womens movement
• Financial Constraints
• womens organisations had little or no financial
  resources for ICT

19

• Gaps in Technical Capacity and Training
• net-literacy and inadequate skills
• womens organisations did not provide IT training
  to their staff routinely
• womens organisations also lacked information on
  Internet resources, advocacy and lobbying skills,
  and skills on combining conventional methods of
  information dissemination and access with the
  Internet.

20
The Caucasus and Central Asia region

• Useful ICT tools
• Telephone
• E-mail
• Facsimile
• Postal mail
• Recipient of the information 
• Other NGOs
• donors and other intl organizations
• mass media,national governments,
  libraries/resource centers, individuals

21

• ICT as a Tool for Empowerment
• conduct research and gain access to news,
  information
• improve organizational and personal knowledge,
  skills
• monitor and participate in global womens
  initiatives
• disseminate information and publicize materials

22

• lobby development causes at local and regional
  levels
• exchange information and experience coordinate
  activities both in-country and abroad
• contribute to civil society and local communities
  
• identify new contacts and development partners
• apply for donor funding and other forms of
  technical support.

23

• Barriers to ICT Use
• lack of sufficient technical skills
• lack of necessary equipment, hardware and
  soft-ware
• lack of financial independence and sustainability
  
• Secondary factors
• limited awareness and understanding of the
  opportunities made available by ICT
• limited knowledge of English
• limited number of other on-line local NGOs with
  whom to network
• lack of comprehension to use ICT for development

24
Pacific

• Usefulness of ICT
• Organizations continue to use more traditional
  mediums of communication such as faxes,
  telephones and snail mail in combination with
  email
• Very few Pacific womens organisations utilise
  the web as a networking facility

25
Most common use

• Communication and networking with members,
  partners, networks, international womens
  organisations and funders
• Advocacy, lobbying, publicising the organisation
• Research and Information on international
  news/events
• least useful for information on national events
  and job postings.
• Improved organizational output/productivity
  /Saves time and money

26

• Skills and Training
• few women's groups who have Internet access are
  computer literate but are not formally trained in
  the usage of the web and its tools
• Awareness Understanding of the Benefits of ICT
• lack the skills and financial resources needed to
  effectively access and utilise the medium

27

• Combining ICT with Popular Forms of Communication
• radio is still the most popular form of
  communication in the Islands due to its
  affordability and accessibility factors and its
  provision of vernacular services

28

• Connectivity Access Costs
• 95 percent of respondents highlighted the cost
  factor as a barrier to access and effective
  utilisation of ICT
• Womens organisations are not getting online due
  to
• limited funds
• high access costs due to Internet Service
  Provider (ISP) monopolies,
• a lack of reliable connections, and limitations
  with facilities in the Islands also fuel the
  situation.
• audiences are often without access which means
  that the Internet is not always an efficient
  means of communication.

29
Summary of recommendations

• Greater Access to ICT decision making
• Greater access for the unconnected
• More educational and training opportunities for
  women
• Training women trainers
• Training and capacity-building in basic computer
  skills and literacy

30
Summary of recommendations

• Awareness raising about ICT
• Mobilization of more resources for ICT and
  development for women
• ICT should be expanded for participatory forms of
  collaboration, decision-making, and educational
  and publicity campaigns.

31
Summary of recommendations

• More in-depth follow-up studies should be
  conducted at the country level
• enhance ICT accessibility through convergence of
  technologies such as radio and the Internet

32
CommunicationKey to Advocacy

• Effective use of communication is a key tool for
  advocacy. Sound knowledge and understanding of
  how communication works, including ways to
  efficiently access and utilise the many tools
  within, is necessary for social and economic
  development.

33
Access to information technology is a rights
issue.

• Women must ensure that they are given the
  opportunity to become more computer literate, to
  utilise the Internet and its many tools for more
  efficient networking, information sharing and
  capacity building.

34
ICT development should be relevant to the region

• An effective communications system is one which
  works for the majority of a people.
• ICT development must adopt and effectively to
  address the cultural, vernacular and geographical
  needs of the region

35

• The multiplicity of languages and cultures must
  also be accounted for to overcome gender,
  economic, digital divides, recognising that
  language, cultural and generational divides exist
  in every society