The Gender Digital Divide: The Canadian Context

One of the biggest challenges faced by the adaptation of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is bridging the digital divide, which is a growing with regard to women and girls around the world. The trends in the development of ICTs indicate that it is following the well-worn path towards inequality and exclusion, putting women and girls at a disadvantage with regards to securing better livelihoods and basic human rights in the digital context.

This divide is further enabled by the masculine image attributed to science and technology in curriculum and in the media. Few women are producers of information technology whether as Internet content providers, programmers, designers, innovators, or as computer repair persons. To top this off, women are conspicuously absent from decision making processes on issues regarding information technology.

Read More: http://womynsvoices.ca/en/node/509

I had fun hanging out at the Linux Chicks booth this year at SCaLE. Women need more "womyn clubs" like this, IMO.

Guys who feel "excluded" or "discriminated" from such events need to grow up, I think. Lots of things we guys do (poker, Starcraft LAN parties, golf clubs) are largely male dominated. These networks give us huge advantages in the workplace and are also often where we informally talk about business. It's about time that women carve out their space in the IT industry, lest they get left behind.

It certainly doesn't help that we see web pages all over the internet that prominately display a picture of a breeding-age female in an obvious attempt to make the website more compelling to males.

This is endemic, and clearly tells women that they are intruders and, if not actually unwelcome, certainly unexpected.

I can't for the life of me figure out why the webmaster for my my webmail account thinks I want to sit and wait for a picture of a total stranger to download onto my screen before I'm allowed to start logging into my account! My bank does the same thing.

Wow. Three basic presumptions, all worthy of skepticism.

One is about a masucline image for science and technology. That one's been going since people started to complain about little girls preferring to play with dolls and little boys with trucks and guns - no matter what adults try to foist on them.

Then about bigotry and needing to grow up: Here I wonder about the feelings of people who are excluded and the 'adult' expression of feelings and the whole concept of tribe and community.

A third about sexism. Makes me think of Desmond Morris and his attempts to rationalize sexual behaviors. Maybe Freud ought to chip in, too.

And then there is the interesting conundrum about creating a "divide" and attempting to address it by segregation methods. How are you going to work towards gender neutrality by segregating the population and emphasizing that divide you think exists?

How about let's celebrate diversity? Recognize that one person is different from another. Maybe even recognize that women are different from men; girls from boys.

How about let's work on barriers to free and appropriate expression? How about let's start by giving everyone an open invitation? How about let's start by encouraging everyone to be the most and the best they can be? How about encouraging everyone to pursue their interests and to help them past barriers - visible or otherwise?

It starts with each of us, one by one. Am I setting the example? Are my actions and deeds really supporting my morales and ideals? Where am I going? What do I really want? Are we in this together?