Gender and ICTs for Development

Around the world, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have changed the lives of individuals, organizations, and, indeed, entire nations. ICTs can have profound implications for women and men in terms of employment, education, health, environmental sustainability, and community development.

Because of systemic gender biases in ICTs and their applications, women are far more likely than men to experience discrimination in the new information society. In spite of this, resource-poor and non-literate women and their organizations are aware of the power of information technologies and communication processes, and are using them to advance their basic needs and strategic interests, improve their livelihoods, and help them achieve their human rights.

Gender and ICTs for Development brings together case studies about women and their communities in developing countries and how they have been influenced by, and have used, ICTs in development. An introduction by Helen Hambly Odame, now at the University of Guelph in Canada, formerly with the International Service for National Agricultural Research, provides a global overview of the issues, and a framework for responding to the case studies.

This book, the seventh of these Global Sourcebooks, features five major case studies which examine the diverse ways in which women have been able to make the most of digital opportunities:
* e-commerce in Bhutan;
* entrepreneurship by women workers in China;
* post-conflict communication using radio and ICTs in Sierra Leone;
* sustainable fisheries production in Ghana; and
* information exchange related to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

The extensive and up-to-date critical bibliography of print and online resources makes this a truly global sourcebook on the topic. Published in association with KIT Publishers.

Around the world, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have changed the lives of individuals, organizations, and, indeed, entire nations. ICTs can have profound implications for women and men in terms of employment, education, health, environmental sustainability, and community development.

Because of systemic gender biases in ICTs and their applications, women are far more likely than men to experience discrimination in the new information society. In spite of this, resource-poor and non-literate women and their organizations are aware of the power of information technologies and communication processes, and are using them to advance their basic needs and strategic interests, improve their livelihoods, and help them achieve their human rights.

Gender and ICTs for Development brings together case studies about women and their communities in developing countries and how they have been influenced by, and have used, ICTs in development. An introduction by Helen Hambly Odame, now at the University of Guelph in Canada, formerly with the International Service for National Agricultural Research, provides a global overview of the issues, and a framework for responding to the case studies.

This book, the seventh of these Global Sourcebooks, features five major case studies which examine the diverse ways in which women have been able to make the most of digital opportunities:
* e-commerce in Bhutan;
* entrepreneurship by women workers in China;
* post-conflict communication using radio and ICTs in Sierra Leone;
* sustainable fisheries production in Ghana; and
* information exchange related to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

The extensive and up-to-date critical bibliography of print and online resources makes this a truly global sourcebook on the topic. Published in association with KIT Publishers.

Minke Valk in an Information Specialist in the Information and Library Services Department of KIT (Royal Tropical Institute) in The Netherlands.