Gender and E-Government

Katherine Reilly

Two Visions of the Internet

Dominant

Connectivity

Digital divide

Individuals

Social/Alternative

Use & appropriation

Social divide

Organized groups

State – CSO RelationsE-government – the use of ICTs by

government to modernize the government

E-governance – the use of ICTs by government to manage the state (vertical relationship)

E-democracy – the use of ICTs by government to facilitate the participation of civil society in the management of the state (horizontal relationship)

National DigitalizationFocus of e-government on updating existing administrative systems to facilitate e-servicesFocus of e-governance on meeting business demands in the area of e-commerceUniversal access and education as facilitating factorsE-democracy is not a main focus

Public InformationClarity – providing information that

helps citizens to understand and manoeuvre the bureaucracy. E-services and public image websites.

Transparency – providing information that allows citizens to judge the performance of the state. Accountability and sanctions.

ICTs and PolicyICT Policy

Focus on ICTs

Virtual world

Regulating ICTs

ICTs in Policy

Focus on political processes / actors

Real world

ICTs impacts on policy processes

Gender and ICT PolicyWomen’s Action Plan as part of National Digitalization Strategy (esp. legal reforms)E-services (ensuring women’s access) Infrastructure and ConnectivityClear information for individual womenClustering (privacy / data matching)Financial System Reform (gender accounting)National ID Cards

Gender and ICTs in PolicyUse and appropriation of public information and ICTs in gender agendasICTs for a gender enabling policy environmentAccountability and TransparencyCitizen information systems versus managerial information systemsBetter State-CSO relations and e-democracy

Conclusion

Recognizing that existing social divides need to be closed in order to close the gender digital divide, work on gender and e-government needs to focus on the roll of ICTs and public

information in political and public policy agendas.

Thank you!Fundación Acceso: www.acceso.or.cr

Juliana Martínez: “Public Information for Public Policy Advocacy” with support of IDRC

INSTRAW-GAINS

Katherine Reilly: Katherine@Reilly.net