ICT Strategies for Gender Empowerment: Actionable Approaches and Recommendations

Information and communications technologies are generally regarded as new tools that can serve as effective agents of positive economic, social and political change in developing regions. However, the tendency to see these technologies as universally applicable can lead to the unintended reinforcement of male-dominated power structures and the expansion, rather then the narrowing, of traditional gender inequalities that further isolates girls and women. ICT stakeholders must recognize that they cannot close the digital divide without alleviating the gendered digital divide. Until there is equal access and opportunity for girls and women in ICT programs and policies there will be no equity. This paper tracks the short history of initiatives aimed at empowering women through ICTs and highlights areas of needed research and actionable methods for bringing and keeping gender at the forefront of the ICT for development agenda