gender and telecentres: what have we learned?
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Gender and Telecentres: What Have We Learned?. Eva M. Rathgeber Joint Chair of Women’s Studies Universit é of Ottawa/Carleton University Ottawa, Canada March 2002. TELECENTRE BACKGROUND. TCs began in Sweden -1980s Developing countries -1990s Strong donor interest - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Gender and Telecentres: What Have We Learned?
Eva M. RathgeberJoint Chair of Women’s Studies
Université of Ottawa/Carleton UniversityOttawa, Canada
March 2002
TELECENTRE BACKGROUND
TCs began in Sweden -1980s Developing countries -1990s Strong donor interest
• potential to overcome North/South information chasms
• allow South to participate more equitably in global economy
• (open new market opportunities for business in the North)
Telecentres in the South
In Africa there are now thousands, ranging from single purpose teleshops to multipurpose TCs, offering a full range of services
But the emphasis has been on the provision of hardware and on solving the technical problems of connectivity
So… like other technological innovations before them, TCs often were imposed w/out adequate attention to local needs, capacities and preferences
Telecentres in the South
Little concrete knowledge about the information needs and preferences of local communities
Little or no focus on content The technology itself was seductive Start-up costs are high – a South African
estimate suggests it costs US$40,000
What about women?
Preliminary evidence suggests that telecentres in developing countries are not particularly effective in helping women to gain access to better economic, educational and other opportunities
Women use telecentres much less than men and when they do use them, it is usually for non-internet related purposes
Why?
TCs have been set up in the same way as earlier technology-based innovations, i.e. with the expectation that the hardware will be used equally and in the same way by everyone
But research has shown that boys and girls/ men and women do not approach technology in the same way nor with the same expectations
Machines for men
TECHNOLOGY IS NOT NEUTRAL!
Most often it is designed by men to meet their own needs and interests
It assumes love of tinkering and learning by trial and error
Most TCs have been set up in this model to meet the priorities and interests of male users
The onus is on the user to come in and try the equipment and to find out for himself what it can do
Why are we seeing a difference between male and female users?
Telecentres are set up on a fee-charging basis with mostly male technical management and support
It is assumed that users have at least a little disposable income and that they themselves decide how it should be spent
It is assumed that users will feel comfortable in a one-on-one technical assistance situation with a man
Premises are usually cramped and there is little privacy (and no childcare facilities)
…differences…
The TCs assume that users understand that information can be a valuable tool to help them solve their problems
It is assumed that users are literate and able to communicate in a metropolitan language
It is assumed that users will feel comfortable with computers and anonymous, gray-coloured equipment that works almost invisibly
Women’s Situation
None of these assumptions necessarily hold true for women
Women usually have less access to financial resources, less time, and less education than men
Even the physical site of the TC can become problematic if it means that they have to travel far from home or to interact closely with men
Donor Involvement
IDRC,UNESCO, USAID, ITU and UNDP have been major actors in the establishment of telecentres but no one has successfully developed an effective methodology to address women’s different priorities and constraints
However, IDRC, USAID, and UNDP have all supported numerous studies that focus specifically on women’s different needs and perspectives
THEREFORE
The knowledge exists
WHY IS IT NOT USED?
As donors, we have not learned from our own experiences…
What is the evidence for this view?
IDRC recently undertook an evaluation of telecentres in Uganda, South Africa, Senegal, Mozambique
In every country, it was found that telecentres are used more often by men than by women
- in Uganda women represented 29% of the users
- in Mozambique they were 35% - in Mali they were 23%
Survey Results
In Uganda, the evaluation focused on three donor-funded telecentres and two private cybercafes
Two of the telecentres were in rural areas, one telecentre and two cybercafes were in urban/peri-urban area (Kampala)
Survey Results
Ugandan sample included 217 women Ugandan sample included 217 women and 288 men living in the areaand 288 men living in the area
Only 41% had ever used a computer Only 41% had ever used a computer More than half were unaware of the More than half were unaware of the
telecentres or did not know where they telecentres or did not know where they were locatedwere located
Biggest users were young people (71% Biggest users were young people (71% were under 50 and 27% under 16)were under 50 and 27% under 16)
Survey Results…
Similar findings in other countries
- in Mozambique only 15% of women in the sample had ever used a computer, compared with 21% of the women
- in every country, the biggest users were young people
Women users…
Older, rural-based women were the least likely telecentre users…
But women in urban/ peri-urban areas were more likely to use the telecentres than women in rural areas
Communication Priorities
Fax, internet and e-mail were the least used services in all cases (regarded to be for elite)
Photocopying, document printing, reading of books and newspapers, telephone and video/tv were most used
Multi-purpose telecentres had higher usage than single purpose ones
Communication mostly for social/family purposes, not for educational/business purposes
Reasons for lack of female presence
The Mali evaluation found that the cost of telecentre use was still too high for women
Efforts had been made to include women on the TC management committee, to provide training specifically for women, to display photos of women using computers on training materials, to offer fee discounts, etc
But women still are not coming so there must be other reasons…
Provision of Content
The telecentres have tried to repackage some information to suit the local environment and to make it more user-friendly
Focus mostly has been on agriculture and health
But they have had problems with• Lack of funds for repackaging activities
• Lack of requisite skills and expertise
• No cost recovery system in place
Content IS the issue
Lack of local content was a major problem that was expressed by both men and women telecentre users…
How to grapple with the content issue?
One approach is to work with a CD ROM modality
Allows for multi-media approach combining pictures, comics, speech and written text in a user-friendly (woman-friendly) manner
It does not require costly and unreliable internet connection
An example…
IDRC funded a project with the New York-based IWTC to produce a CD ROM for rural Ugandan women entitled: “Rural Women in Africa: Ideas for Earning Money.”
It was prepared in English and in Luganda and can be used by illiterate or semi-literate people
Most importantly, it provides practical information that can be used immediately
Further Plans…
We are now preparing a CD ROM for Berber women in Morocco who work in a cooperative producing argane oil
The argane tree is almost unique to Morocco and women have been producing oil for alimentary and cosmetic uses for centuries
But their harvesting and processing techniques are environmentally unfriendly and physically laborious
Women Breaking Argane Nuts
Berber women watching Uganda CDROM
Women learning to use the computer…
CD ROM for Berber Women…
We have started a participatory process with the Berber women, discussing the storyline for the CD ROM and getting constant feedback
The final product will focus on environmental degradation, on the properties of the argane tree, on the process of setting up a cooperative, and on ideas for the valorization of argane products
It will be produced in French, Arabic and Berber