African Women and Technology: Why Bridging the Digital Gender Divide is a No-brainer for Africa.

In today’s fast-paced technology-driven and globalized world, digital technologies play a great role in our everyday lives. The extent to which society at large has embraced the usage of the global communications infrastructure which includes innovations like the internet, mobile telephony and social networking applications in all shapes and sizes is truly remarkable. Indeed, technology has irrefutably maintained its place as the grueling engine of change in our modern-day connected world (Hilbert 479). Consequently, irrevocable social, productive, political and cultural transformations have resulted from this drastic adoption of information and communications technologies.  

With the internet, our world becomes smaller each day as the effect of distance and geography as communication barriers are diminished every single day. Mobile telephony is changing the lives of millions of people as it is being leveraged as a medium to deliver crucial services such as banking. This is leading to financial inclusion in an unprecedented fashion. However, as the process of mass technology adoption unfolds, a new form of inequality is added to all the forms of discrimination that already exist; a form of inequality characterized by the power to communicate and to process information digitally (Hilbert 480). This form of inequality has been dubbed the “digital divide”. 

Kularski describes the digital divide as “the gap between those who have access to vital information technology resources and those that do not have access to those resources” and posits two ways through which the divide is enacted (Kularski 1). The digital divide manifests as a result of the lack of technical skills and due to physical limitations on access. These two gaps very often contribute to each other in “circular causation such that without access to technology, it is difficult to develop technical skills and it is redundant to have access to technology without first having the skill to utilize it” (Antonio 673).  

When one begins to look deeper into the matter of the digital divide, another striking revelation emerges; the digital gender divide. In an attempt to shine more light on the state of African women’s access to technology and highlight the benefits of more women having access to technology to the continent, this article will explore the issue of the digital gender divide in Africa extensively. 

In contemporary Africa, issues of extreme gender inequality still continue to be an endemic feature characteristic of the continent (Alozie 137). For long, the plight of women across the continent had been neglected as a subject of critical concern given the persistent patriarchal setting but nations are now beginning to address the matter – albeit slowly. For example, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol, was adopted in Mozambique in July 2003. Highlighted in 23 individual Articles which addressed issues ranging from women’s dignity and security, to economic and political rights, the Maputo Protocol acknowledged the ubiquitous incidence of ‘dehumanization’ of women across Africa and set out to uplift women’s status at the national, regional and Pan-African levels by first mainstreaming gender-based activism and then instituting a binding international code of conduct to guide state action (Alozie 137-8). 

Indeed, great progress and strides have been made yet there still remains a great deal of work to be done. As a result of entrenched socio-cultural attitudes about the role of women in society, empirical studies clearly show that women in developing economies around the world have significantly lower technology participation rates than men (Antonio 673). In their review, The gender Digital Divide in Developing Countries, Antonio, and Tuffley highlight the fact that “The percentage of women using the Internet lags behind the percentage of men using the Internet in developing countries across all age groups” (Antonio 675). However, highly educated women are a notable exception, as they reportedly use the Internet as much as men, suggesting that given an education and the means to do so, women will make just as much use of the Internet as men, refuting the assertion that it is lack of capacity that causes women to otherwise not use the Internet (Antonio 676). 

In fact, Hilbert argues that the discussion about women’s access to technology in the developing world such as women in Africa has been rather less holistic and more inconclusive. This is because very often, data from the developed world are used and anecdotal conclusions from them are applied across the board to Africa and other emerging regions. Of course, similar to findings in the developed world, the digital gender divide is consistent across Africa and applies to access and intensity of usage. However, local case studies done in the developed world which in most cases spells out that women face barriers such as lack of access and training and that they are often confronted with sophisticated software and hardware applications that do not often reflect female interests and needs thus causing them to shy away from technology usage often leads to the transfer of the technophobic argument to developing world contexts like much of Africa (Hilbert 480).   

To put this claim to question, Hilbert went on to conduct an empirical test to shed some light on the claim that women are rather technophobic and that men are better users of digital tools. Data sets from 12 Latin American and 13 African countries from 2005 to 2008 were analyzed. Actually, this is believed to be the most extensive empirical study in the field at the time.  

Surprisingly consistent and revealing, the results of the empirical study showed that that “the reason why fewer women access and use ICT is a direct result of their unfavorable conditions with respect to employment, education and income” (Hilbert 479). The study also revealed that when controlling for these variables, women turn out to be more active users of digital tools than men. For example, “When asked about the kinds of services used online, men reveal that they are much more enthusiastic about using the Internet for entertainment reasons than women. When it comes to using digital channels for education and training, the data is clear that women tend to make much better use of the existing opportunities than men” (Hilbert 486).  

The above findings, therefore, turn the alleged digital gender divide into an opportunity: given women's affinity for Information CT, and given that digital technologies are tools that can improve living conditions, ICT represents a concrete and tangible opportunity to tackle longstanding challenges of gender inequalities in developing countries, including access to employment, income, education and health services (Hilbert 486). But before these opportunities can be tapped, we must further understand the barriers that often cause the digital gender divide to persist in sub-Saharan Africa. Antonio and Tuffley identified four major barriers that hinder women’s access to and use of Information Communication Technologies. These are exclusion from technology education and design; limited free time; social norms favoring men; and financial and/or institutional constraints (Antonio 678). These barriers are briefly elaborated below. 

First, let us look at the barrier due to exclusion from technology education and design. Access to education continues to be a more severe obstacle for women than men. According to a UN Women status report, “Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people.” (UN Women). Moreover. 75% of women compared are illiterate compared to 86% of men across the developing world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the female literacy rate is under 50% and among the world’s 123 million youth, 76 million are female according to a 2014 UNESCO fact-book. Addressing the education gender gap is absolutely important in addressing the digital gender divide.  

Moreover, there is a dire need to design, develop, and make available education content that is relevant to women in technology. It has been reported that due to fewer women web developers and programmers than men, several women in Africa lack content that is relevant to their needs and interests (Antonio 678). Alozie and Akpan-Obong hypothesized that lack of education and digital literacy would be a barrier for women in accessing technology, but that its negative effect would be greater for women. Indeed, their results showed that results suggest that this is generally true (Alozie 153). 

Consistent with the revealing findings from Hilbert’s empirical study which showed that with the right education, women are more active technology users than men, another study by Nieminen showed similar results. With regard to gender, the results from Nieminen’s study published in his paper titled, Digital Divide and Beyond: What Do We Know of Information and Communications Technology’s Long-term Social Effects? Some Uncomfortable Questions, as published in the European Journal of Communication indicate that certain differences exist between boy’s and girls’ ICT competences. (Nieminen 17). “The results show a general trend in favor of females I.e. primary school girls outperformed primary school boys in a statistically significant degree. Moreover, with regard to socioeconomic status, results from Aesaert and Braak’s study show that the educational level of the mother is positively related to both students' technical ICT skills and higher-order ICT competences (Aesaert). All in all, addressing the barrier due to exclusion from technology education and design would indeed unleash great opportunities. 

Second, the issue of limited free time as a barrier is worth talking about. It is not a peculiar thing that the heavy burden of household and family responsibilities are disproportionately borne by African women invariably compared to those by men (Antonio 679). This is due to the restraining nature of some rigid social norms against women that still exist in several African societies. In this regard, Marcus and Harper’s framework definition of social norms is considered; “Social norms are part of the way in which gendered power inequalities are maintained” (Marcus & Harper 1). These social norms usually tend to confer control of technology to men thereby exacerbating the matter of the digital gender divide while depriving women of the right to exercise autonomy.  

The extent to which women exercise autonomy, for example in using the web significantly influences the extent to which they can access it. Antonio and Tuffley posit that there are several factors that contribute to a woman’s autonomy including the location of access, for example (Antonio 679). When Internet access is only available outside the home, and the user has to travel long distances to an Internet-enabled facility, this is likely to reduce one’s likelihood of pursuing the online environment (Antonio 2014, 679). The case is even more severe in the situation of African women given the number of other household responsibilities that would deem the pursuit of the online environment unimportant and a non-priority issue. Therefore, issues of restraining social norms that marginalize African women need to be addressed as they pose a major barrier for technology utilization by limiting the free time they have. 

Third, social norms favoring men must be carefully examined too. In discussing the issue of limited time previously, the matter of social norms came up but only to the extent to which such norms limited the availability of free time at the African women’s disposal to pursue Information Technology Communications related interests. In this context of social norms favoring men, I concur with Antonio and Tuffley’s observation that “Technologies are often considered to be within the purview of men and gender norms about men’s control of technology, information and knowledge limit women’s opportunity to learn, use and benefit from technology” (Antonio 2014). 

Historically, researchers have been quick to observe that women tend to be latecomers to the digital age. As a result of this, the field of technology has been historically viewed as male a domain (Hilbert 2011). While researchers “claimed that those gender-specific differences had their origins in the fact that women underestimated their actual usage skills” (Hilbert 2011, 479-489), the case is certainly different in the context of the African women many of who are ambitious, self-driven, and full of so much potential. Instead, the patriarchal social norms that favor men at the duress of several African women is the most plausible explanation here. For example, the fact that many African societies for a long-time favored sending the boy child to school first before ever even considering the education of the girl child is emphatic of the devastating effects of these crude social norms that marginalize women in their pursuit of technological know-how. While the status quo has significantly improved overall, the legacies of this kind of social norms still prevail in contemporary African society. 

The fourth barrier to consider in our understanding of the factors for the prevailing digital gender divide is the financial and or institutional constraints. The use of ICT corresponds to having increased power and control within society due to its important function as a tool for gathering and sharing information (Chadwick et al 2013). As such groups with limited economic resources have reduced access to technology. In the African context, women in many parts of the continent, especially in the rural areas, experience a greater barrier to technological access and usage given this financial factor. Moreover, many financial institutions do not generally lend to women who often have no assets such as in the form of land to present as security for such loans. As such, financial and institutional constraints thus present major barriers exacerbating the digital gender gap even further.  

At this point, it is worth noting that these four major factors, significant in their effects as they are, are not conclusive. Several other factors could be mentioned to explain the prevailing digital gender divide in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, it should also be observed that the barriers also tend to work in combination, for example, the interesting interplay between limited free time and social norms that favor men. 

Therefore, to fully unleash the potential that could be realized by technologically empowering Africa women, holistic social policies that are multidimensional in the sense that they address more than one barrier, need to be employed. Whereas this paper does not seek to offer solutions for addressing the barriers to the digital gender divide, it acknowledges the significance of doing so. In the following section, several reasons are given for why bridging the digital gender divide is a no-brainer for Africa. The opportunities that could be unlocked by this inclusive approach to technological development are outlined. 

With Women in developing countries and many parts of Africa nearly 25% less likely to be online than men, the immense potential could be unleashed by reversing this statistic. According to USAID, if an additional 600 million women and girls were online in the next three years, Gross Domestic product across 144 developing countries could be boosted by up to thirteen to eighteen billion US dollars ($13-18 billion). 

Moreover, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation estimate that digital financial inclusion of African women and women in the developing world would create nearly 95 million new jobs and provide up to 2.1 trillion US dollars in loans for individuals to start businesses which would massively contribute to the growth of many African nations and lift millions out of poverty. There is simply no reason why this immense potential should not be unleashed. 

In another revealing report on development contributions from women participation in technological utilization, US Agency for International Development (USAID) noted that 58% of women felt more independent with a mobile phone. When women feel more independent and enjoy a sense of autonomy, they are in a much better position to replicate this feeling of safety at the household level given their integral role in shaping communities through their vital role in families, most especially in the African continent (Hilbert 2011). 

The same report observed that more than 70% of women consider the internet liberating and another 85% reported that the internet provides more freedom. The implications of women’s feelings of freedom combined by the pre-current issue of safety are astronomical in setting the tone of affairs in the society at large. With 68% of women who participated in the USAID survey reporting that they feel safer with a mobile phone, it is clear that the benefits of bridging the unacceptable digital gender divide are indeed a no brainer. 

Moreover, with regards to increased life opportunities for African women in sub-Saharan Africa, the Internet can reduce physical barriers to education and learning by allowing women to receive long-distance education via the Internet, particularly with the rise of high quality, free courses in a wide range of disciplines—the MOOC phenomena (Massively Open Online Course) (Antonio 2014, 673-687). It is not enough to simply have access to ICTs. It is equally important that women have the knowledge and resources to translate access into effective use and education is indeed one of the most effective ways of using the internet. 

All in all, the above reasons make it clear that bridging the digital gender divide must indeed be a no brainer for Africa. The only way the continent can realize its development agenda is by fully getting women on board.  

References 

Aesaert, Koen, and Johan Van Braak. "Gender and Socioeconomic Related Differences in Performance-Based ICT Competences." Computers & Education 84.C (2015): 8-25. Web. 

Alozie, Nicholas O., and Patience Akpan‐Obong. "The Digital Gender Divide: Confronting Obstacles to Women's Development in Africa." Development Policy Review 35.2 (2017): 137-60. Web. 

Antonio, A., & Tuffley, D. (2014). The gender digital divide in developing countries. Future Internet, 6(4), 673-687. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/fi6040673 

Bogdan-Martin, Doreen. "Calling Time on the Digital Gender Divide." International Trade Forum 1 (2018): 18-19. Web. 

Chadwick, Darren & Wesson, Caroline & Fullwood, Chris. (2013). Internet Access by People with Intellectual Disabilities: Inequalities and Opportunities. Future Internet. 5. 376-397. 10.3390/fi5030376. 

Hilbert, Martin. "Digital Gender Divide or Technologically Empowered Women in Developing Countries? A Typical Case of Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics." Women's Studies International Forum 34.6 (2011): 479-89. Web. 

Kularski, C.; Moller, S. The digital divide as a continuation of traditional systems of inequality. Sociology 2012, 5151, 1–23. [Google Scholar]. 

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Nieminen, Hannu. "Digital Divide and Beyond: What Do We Know of Information and Communications Technology’s Long-term Social Effects? Some Uncomfortable Questions." European Journal of Communication 31.1 (2016): 19-32. Web. 

United Nations. 2015 “The Sustainable Development Goals.” UN Sustainable Development Goals website, September 11. Accessed December 3, 2019.