WOMEN'S GLOBAL NETWORKING USING ICTs

Anne S. Walker Asian pacific women's information network center 2003 APWIN Vol.5 No.-

In the past 25 years, international, regional and national women's media networks have worked together to build what has become a truly global women's movement. With a strong background ofleadership and linkages often built around the early work of more traditional international membership organizations such as the World YWCA and Associated Country Women of the World, women have set up and expanded networks ofcommunication and information that stretch into the farthest reaches ofthe world. The advent of new information technologies such as electronic networking via computers, websites, fax broadcasting, and other forms of telecommunications, has introduced a new dimension into all ofthis. These new tools and techniques for women's empowerment are expansions ofwhat has already been put in place by women worldwide. One example of a global women's network is the IWTC network. The International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC) is an international nongovernmental organization established in 1976 following the UN International Women's Year World Conference in Mexico City. With a philosophical commitment to empowering people and building communities, IWTC provides communication, information, education, and organizing support services to women's organizations and community groups working to improve the lives of women, particularly low-income women, in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Another women's global communications strategy emerged from discussions between women's information and media networks participating in the first Preparatory Committee for the UN Beijing Plus Five Special Session in 2000. These networks formed the Womennction 2000 Coalition and worked solidly to implement a communications strategy that made it possible for women community activists in every world region to participate in the Beijing Plus Five review and appraisal process. Women's media networks worldwide have continued working to get gender issues and concerns onto the agenda ofthe World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). So much is dependent on the ability to inform and communicate with each other and with the world at large. We ask for nothing less than gender equality at every level of decisionmaking and implementation as the world becomes increasingly dependent on not only access to information but the ability and resources to produce and disseminate information.

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR WOMEN SUCH AS ECONOMIC RELATED IT

Kim, Kio Chung,Moon, Hyun Jeon Asian pacific women's information network center 2003 APWIN Vol.5 No.-

Information and communication technology (ICT) is indeed one of the fastest growing fields in the world economy today. However, women are still faced with many obstacles in terms of fully and effectively participating in today's knowledge-based economy. We recognize developing gender-awareness ICT policies, along with human resource development programs represent the best and quickest route for women to gain economic power. Through the development of women's skills, we can significantly increase the resource pool demanded by the new information society. Thus, policies directed at both males and females, with an emphasis on equal participation in decision- making as well as equal access to ICT services, will lead to greater overall benefits to society. During the past couple of years, access to the Internet has improved dramatically. Developing economies have raised their share of the world's Internet users from 2 % in 1991 to 23 % of the halfa billion or so users around the world in 2001. But the nature of the divide is shifting; from basic to advanced communication, and from quantity to quality. Informatization refers to the use, transfer, and production of information by utilizing ICT In order to increase the informatization level in a society, fundamental infrastructures need to be facilitated and access to new communication technology should be provided to everyone who wants it. The development of ICT, including the Internet, has influenced the economic sector greatly. It also becomes more important to economic factors to use the information technologies in their practices. ICT is considered as one of the most important factors in success in the digital economy. The use of new ICT is important especially for women who are relatively disadvantaged than men in terms of economic participation. Therefore, providing ICT education and training opportunities for women will benefit women in economic sectors in the APEC region. In this report, we are presenting the successes and lessons learned from the various initiatives made by the Korean government, the private sector, and women organizations to increase female participation in the information society. Against this backdrop, we are presenting the recommendations for the APEC economies to boost women's involvement in the economy and business activities through IT capacity building. Indeed, the underlying aim of these recommendations is to develop an effective model to increase women's access and participation in the knowledge-based digital economy for the APEC region.

From the Bottom, Side, Top : APC WNSP's Approach to Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy

Chinco, Cheekay Asian pacific women's information network center 2006 APWIN Vol.8 No.-

This paper focuses on the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP)'s strategies and pproaches in its gender and ICT policy advocacy work. It focuses on one of it's main initiatives, a gender and ICT policy site called genderIT , and the lessons the network has learned in the process of developing the site. It also tackles some of the challenges in engaging women's movements in ICT policy advocacy as well as APC WNSP's priorities for the future. APC WNSP has been working on ICT policy advocacy for women since before 1995, when the network took part in the Beijing World Conference on Women, specifically to engage in the discussion on Section J (Women in the Media) of the Beijing Platform for Action. The successful lobby for the inclusion of Women's ICT needs in the formulation of Section J was the first step in what today is a growing global gender and ICT advocacy movement, where APC WNSP plays a lead role. In 2005, APC WNSP launched genderIT, a website that focuses on making connections between Women's issues and ICT issues. It is targeted towards both the Women's organizations and movements and ICT policymakers. There is no doubt, that though much has been gained in as far as gender and ICT advocacy is concerned, there is a much left to do. For APC WNSP, our priorities include: - Supporting Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy at the National Level - Maximizing Gender Evaluation as a Strategy for Engaging Policymakers and Practitioners - Deepening Connections Between Women's Issues and ICTs - Keeping an Eye on Emerging Technologies and ICT Issues, and their Impact on Women

Statement/Recommendations from the 11^(th) Women's Leaders' Network Meeting : Towards a Dynamic Community: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Women's Business for Sustainable Development and Prosperity

Asian pacific women's information network center Asian pacific women's information network center 2006 APWIN Vol.8 No.-

ACHIEVING THE MDGS : OVERCOMING WOMEN'S HUMAN POVERTY USING ICTS IN A GLOBALISED BUT FRAGMENTED WORLD

Roma Bhattacharjea Asian pacific women's information network center 2003 APWIN Vol.5 No.-

In a world where information is power, the world is divided between those who have access to information and those who do not. Given the multidimensionality of women's poverty, this paper points out that in the developing world, women's information and communication poverty are often mediated by her human poverty. In this context, the MDGs offers a goal-oriented framework for overcoming monetary and non-monetary aspects ofwomen's poverty. By inverting technology-driven development solutions that ask 'What can we do with this [ICTs]?': the paper proposes a shift in paradigm asking 'What are the needs of poor women and how can ICTs address these?'. The final section outlines a transformative research, policy and e-governance agenda for addressing women's human poverty through ICTs.

Global Digital Leadership in the Knowledge based Information Society

Lee, Kyung Sook Asian pacific women's information network center 2005 APWIN Vol.7 No.-

This is keynote speech given by Dr. Kyung Sook Lee, the President of Soomyung Women's University, during the Forum on ICTs & Gender for World Summit on the Information Society held in June, 2005. Here, the author explains that the main purpose behind the organization of the forum is to work toward women empowerment through development of professionals in ICTs. In light of the newly founded meaning of leadership in the knowledge-based information society, she calls for the needs for women to collectively work toward achieving digital leadership via ICT.

A GEM for ICT Initiatives : Evaluating How ICTs Work for Women

Chat Garcia Ramilo Asian pacific women's information network center 2002 APWIN Vol.4 No.-

The Gender Evaluation Methodology strengthens and sustains gender accountability. The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an incubator of many women's networking initiatives worldwide. The Women's Networking Support Programme works for gender equality in the design, implementation, access and IT use. Developing a knowledge sharing GEM site has allowed women to work jointly and give higher priority to women's campaign initiatives. Workshops in Asia, Africa and Latin America are intended to provide training and to lay down plans for the evaluation of specific initiatives and projects. Women's empowerment emphasizes the importance of increasing power and taking control over decisions and issues that shape women's lives. Transforming the gendered relations of technology is not merely focused on gaining access to knowledge as it is but with creating knowledge itself. If women are to benefit from ICT interventions, mainstreaming the perspectives and concerns for women is one of the important tasks to be undertaken.

Country Reports from Asia, Pacific and Latin America : Similarities & Differences in Addressing Gender & ICT

Mylene Soto,Park, Young Hai Asian pacific women's information network center 2003 APWIN Vol.5 No.-

In order for a country to achieve women's informatization, a certain level of literacy, IT-related skills and awareness of the benefits of ICT is required. This paper is culled from the final report of the baseline survey on women's informatization in 6 Asian countries: China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. It provides a comparative analysis of the levels of literacy, IT-related skills and consciousness of the advantages of ICT in the said countries. It also proposes some views on the possible grounds for the resulting divergence. This study supports its findings with gender-disaggregated data whenever possible. It also looks at the existing government policies or absence thereofand how these relate to women's informatization.

Policies and Trend in the Gender Gap of ICT Usage

Cho, Cheung-Moon Asian pacific women's information network center 2006 APWIN Vol.8 No.-

Despite a great achievement of Informatization in Korea, the digital divide still remains substantial. For instance, while Internet usage rate for the entire population is 72.7%, the rate for the people with disabilities is 41.0%, 21.5% for the elderly, 18.5% for low education people, 44,2% for low income people and 67.2% for female. Gender gap in Korea deserves special concern since Internet usage rate for women is slightly higher than men in other nations like U. S. Detail analysis reveals that women get a poor score on capacity building but not on access and usage, and elderly women are the most disadvantaged group among women The Korean government paid great attention on closing the digital divide, thus have made a special law called The Digital Divide Act(2001) which requires the announcing of a Master Plan for Closing the Digital Divide every 5 years, and publishing the annual based implementation plan, Detail policies for the improvement of information usage of the disadvantaged, including women, are presented in four categories: Network Infrastructure for Telecommunication Services, Access to Telecommunication Services, ICT Capacity Building, and Contents for the Disadvantaged including Women

Global Networking and Partnership through ICT

Lee, Kyung Sook Asian pacific women's information network center 2003 APWIN Vol.5 No.-

Networks and partnerships are built and sustained through ICT. The paper looks at the on the ground experiences of the academia, regional and global networks ofinternational agencies and women's organizations. It cites the current formations and how each of the stakeholders are taking part in these groupings. How are the government agencies, international bodies, the private sector, the academia and civil society as actors in global networks? The paper recognizes the importance of online networking as well as offers a reminder to all of us of the value of human-centered networking through face-to-face interaction.