Survey shows 'Global' support by women for Communication Technology

Geneva, 17 May 2002 — ITU Press Release

Women have expressed overwhelming support for the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICTs). A survey of women from all regions of the world shows striking solidarity in the belief that ICTs are critical to women for meeting their personal and professional goals, in overcoming the inequality of the ‘Digital Divide’ and as entrepreneurs. The survey was released on World Telecommunication Day, which commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union in 1865. The theme of this year’s celebration is: "ICT for all — empowering people to cross the Digital Divide." ICTs can be extremely effective in improving governance, according to Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of ITU. "It gives a voice to people who have been isolated, invisible and silent, and lets them speak out regardless of their gender and where they live." But access to ICTs has not been equitable. "It varies greatly among countries, and within countries too, between urban and rural areas, between the rich and the poor, between the educated and the illiterate, between men and women."

- ‘Information Access’ and ‘Shared Experience’ — critical to Women Entrepreneurs 99% of women surveyed in 6 geographic regions expressed the view that access to information and communication technologies are important to women entrepreneurs. The most important reason was given as ‘Improved information sources’. The second most important reason chosen was the ‘Opportunity to learn through shared experience’. This was consistent across regions except in Africa where ‘Access to additional markets’ placed second. Women from all regions ranked ‘Improved customer access and service’ as third. It is important to note that women view ICTs as an opportunity to improve their economic well being but to do this they also rank it highly as an opportunity to share their experience. This view was also supported by many of those surveyed who chose to add additional ‘other’ reasons such as, increased opportunities for cooperation, community economic development and personal empowerment.

- ICT and Women — a step toward professional fulfilment When asked if ICTs helped them meet their professional goals, 97% agreed that they did. The number one reason given was due to ‘Increased efficiency in the workplace’. The only regional exception was Latin America where ‘Improved information sharing’ ranked highest. This factor was ranked second by all other regions. The role of ICTs in providing ‘Increased opportunities for education’ ranked third regardless of region The importance of information sharing was again noted by many who added additional ‘other’ reasons. These included ‘network building’ and the ‘increased equality between men and women’ that resulted when ICTs were deployed in the workplace.

- Overcoming the ‘Digital Divide’ — Literacy and Availability are key While women make up 42% (on average) of all the Internet users globally, this ranges from less than 30% in Morocco, India and Turkey to more than 50% in Canada and the United States. However, it should be noted that this data does not include many of the least developed nations where access to ICTs is often the most difficult. Women were asked to rank the most important issues that needed to be overcome in order to bridge the ‘Digital Divide’. The most important factor was identified as ‘Availability of ICTs’ followed by the need to improve ‘Literacy levels.’ This was consistent regardless of region, with the exception of North America where increasing ‘Awareness of the potential of ICT for women’ was judged as most important. Improving ‘Literacy levels’ fell to third spot after ICT availability. It is significant to note the relatively low ranking by all regions of ‘Access costs’, ‘Language’ or ‘Time availability’ as perceived obstacles to overcoming the ‘Digital Divide.’ Given the need to ‘multi-task’, especially by women, who increasingly having to balance professional and family commitments, it could be expected that ‘Time availability’ for ICTs would in fact be a more significant concern.

- Women in the Private Sector, Government or Non-Government — Still all for one The solidarity of opinion amongst women as to the importance of ICTs held true even when the responses were divided amongst those who classified themselves as primarily employed in the private, government or non-governmental sectors. ‘Improved information sources’ and the ‘Opportunity to learn through shared experiences’ were ranked as the top two reasons why ICTs are important to women entrepreneurs. As for the importance of the role of ICTs in helping women to meet their professional goals, ‘Increased efficiency in the workplace’ and ‘Improved information sharing’ again ranked at the top. There was a divergence in opinion when asked which issues were the most important for women in order to overcome the ‘Digital Divide’. Those in the government and private sector agreed that the need to improve ‘Literacy levels’ was the most important factor, while those from the non-government sector ranked ‘Availability of ICTs’ as the most critical issue.

- Women and the World Summit on the Information Society The information gathered from this survey will provide input to ITU as it moves forward in planning for the World Summit on the Information Society. The United Nations summit, to be convened under the auspices of the ITU will be held in Geneva in December 2003 and Tunis in 2005. The goal of the Summit is to develop an action plan to bridge the ‘Digital Divide’ between information ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.

- About the Survey The survey was conducted online between 18 April and 15 May 2002. Respondents were from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America responded. The survey was provided in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic.

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