Monique Frize, March 6, 2003 The Digital Divide: North/South and Gender Dr. Monique Frize, P. Eng., O.C. Professor Systems & Computer Engineering Dept

Monique Frize, March 6, 2003

The Digital Divide: North/South and Gender

• Dr. Monique Frize, P. Eng., O.C.

• Professor• Systems & Computer Engineering Dept. Carleton

University• School of Information Technology & Engineering

University of Ottawa


Content

• Define: Digital divide

• Define literacy; levels globally

• Discuss the digital divide by regions

• The infrastructure divide

• Gender and digital divide by regions

• Obstacles for girls

• Solutions for the future


What is the Digital Divide?

• The digital divide refers to many aspects of information technology and has many definitions.

• Complex, multifaceted set of issues that encompass information and technology issues

• as well as social and economic issues.


Another definition...• Some people "have the most powerful computers,

the best telephone service and fastest Internet service, as well as a wealth of content and training relevant to their lives.…

• a another group of people ... don't have access to the newest and best computers, the most reliable telephone service or the fastest or most convenient Internet services. The difference between these two groups is ... the Digital Divide (US Department of Commerce)."


Functional literacy

• People are functionally literate who can:

• engage in all activities in which literacy is required for effective function of their group and community

• enabling them to continue to read, write and calculate for their own and the community's development.







http://www.accu.or.jp/litdbase/stats/index.htm


Technology divide between developed and developing countries: Internet users

http://www.interconnection.org/background/statistics.htm


7 measures of maturity for online content

• number of web sites

• local relevance and usefulness of content.

• local language standardization and usage

• amount of sub-national content (states, provinces, and cities).

• http://www.isoc.org/oti/articles/1000/rao.html

• presence of meta-content (directories, search engines)

• amount of advertising revenues

• third-party services from online traffic auditors, ad revenue auditors, and market research groups

•


Technology and infrastructure Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people)

1995 1998 1999

Europe & Central Asia 124.7 164.6 213.3

Latin America & Caribbean 91.4 119.2 130.1

Middle East & North Africa 37.8 58.0 87.5

East Asia and Pacific 15.7 41.1 82.0

Sub-Saharan Africa 9.5 10.8 ..

South Asia 5.6 11.9 23.2 Source: World Development Indicators database, April 2001


Personal computers (per 1,000 people)

1995 1998 1999

Europe & Central Asia 4.3 18.2 39.3


Middle East & North Africa .. 12.6 25.4

East Asia and Pacific 1.9 6.5 17.0

Sub-Saharan Africa .. .. 8.4

South Asia 0.4 1.5 3.2


Internet hosts (per 10,000 people) 1995 1998 1999

Europe & Central Asia .. 2.3 15.5


East Asia and Pacific .. 0.3 2.4

Sub-Saharan Africa .. 0.8 2.3

Middle East & North Africa .. 0.1 0.4

South Asia .. 0.0 0.2

http://www.interconnection.org/background/statistics.htm


Internet Use Worldwide (2000)

World Total 605.60 Million

Europe 190.9 Million

Asia/Pacific 187.24 Million

Canada & USA 182.67 Million

Latin America 33.35 Million

Africa 6.31 Million

Middle East 5.12 Million

Source: CommerceNet, 1999 http://www.commerce.net


International Telecommunications Union:

• There were more internet hosts in Finland than in all of Latin America and the Caribbean in 1999;

• There were more hosts in New York than in all of Africa;

• More than 80 percent of Web pages were in English. http://www.isoc.org/oti/articles/1000/rao.html


Digital gaps between nations

• Number & density of Internet Service Providers, hosts on the net, proportion of individual users online, and number of organizations with leased-line connections.

• Content in terms of number of web sites in developing countries, amount of local language content, and use of online content by key sectors.

• http://www.isoc.org/oti/articles/1000/rao.html


Global Perspective• Even among highly developed nations, there

exist vast differences in the availability of home Internet access.

• Sweden ranks as the nation with the highest percentage of home Internet connections at 61%;

• Spain trails the list with only 20% of its homes connected.

• (Source: Neilsen/Net ratings, February 2001)


Global Perspective

• 33% of people who have chosen not to go online: main reasons were:

• lack of need (40%); • no computer (33%); • no interest (25%); • lack of knowledge for use (25%); • general cost involved.


U.S. Perspective Rural areas surpassed inner-cities in Internet

availability and use:

Urban 42.3; Rural 38.9; Inner City 37.7

Use of Internet outside home: 62.7% at work; 18.9% at schools, 9.6% at libraries, .5% at Community Centers.

• The 2000 U.S. Census found:

• 63% of homes with residents aged 18-49 used the Internet compared to 37% of households with residents aged 50 or older.

• Women have surpassed men in Internet access and use. (51% to 49%, respectively.)


Proportion of women users


Digital Divide and Gender• The most striking digital gender divide relates to

Internet use• Women are minority users in both developed

and developing countries (except US). • 38 percent in Latin America • 25 percent In the European Union• 19 percent in Russia • 18 percent in Japan• 4 percent in the Middle East.


Women as % of Internet users, Africa

• Country Women as % of users users as % pop

• Zambia 37.5 0.0 • Uganda 31.5 0.1 • South Africa 19.0 3.0 • Ethiopia 13.9 0.01 • Senegal 12.0 0.1

• http://www.worldbank.org/gender/digitaldivide/digitaldivide1.htm


http://www.worldbank.org/gender/digitaldivide/digitaldivide1.htm


http://www.worldbank.org/gender/digitaldivide/digitaldivide1.htm


OBSTACLES TO WOMEN'S ACCESS

• Literacy and education

• Language, time

• Cost, geographical location of facilities

• Social and cultural norms

• Women's computer and information search and dissemination skills


Developing Countries

• There are indications that young women in developing countries are not as affected as U.S. women by attitudes that computer science is not an attractive field to enter.

• http://www.usaid.gov/wid/pubs/it01.htm



• Women comprise between 30 and 50 percent of students in computer science and other natural sciences in a number of developing countries.




• Africa remains the area of greatest concern, however, as African women have the lowest participation rates in the world in science and technology education at all levels.



Impact Information on Women’s Work

• Although IT is a new field, gender division of labor patterns are already emerging.

• Women are users; men are designers.

• However, women are making inroads into higher levels of the IT workforce in Latin America, East and Central Europe, much of Western and South East Asia, and South Africa.


Impact Information on Women’s Work

• Women concentrated in end-user, lower skilled IT jobs related to:

• word processing or data entry;• make up small percentages of managerial,

maintenance and design personnel in networks, operating systems, or software.

http://www.usaid.gov/wid/pubs/it01.htm


But...

• Women comprise a significant percentage of software programmers in India and Brazil and at all levels of IT work in Malaysia.


Sparking Girls' Interest In Computers

• Parents' expectations and attitudes to daughters heavily influences whether or not girls will go into non-traditional fields like engineering or science; and like using computers.

• Girls' mothers involved in technology are role models and show girls it is possible and desirable for women to deal with tools like computers.


Influences: parents, teachers, peers

• The way middle and high schools expose young women to science

• Broadening teaching techniques for various styles of learning

• Changing how our culture thinks about gender roles and careers


Computers: Boys

• Boys liked fun, fast action, competition, and violence.

• Boys were much more aggressive in getting their fair share (or more) of time on the computers and video games.

• Source: Klawe (2000)


Computers: Girls

• Cared more about the story line and the main characters

• Wanted games with positive social interactions, worthwhile goals, and opportunities for creative activities.

• Were often reluctant to assert their right to take their turn when it came around (unless a researcher helped them).


Girls and boys

• Both boys and girls liked:

• Adventure

• Challenge

• Humour

• Graphics, sound effects, and music.


The future… questions...

• What are the most important technical issues for the next ten years?

• What are the most important issues to be addressed?

• How must computing and IT education change to meet the needs of the future?

• What can senior women in the field do to address the issues?


The future… results...

• We need to challenge the entire field to rethink and expand the way that we approach the future, prioritize our projects, teach our students and inspire the creation of fabulous technologies.

• To date, the field has been driven by the fastest, the smallest, the hottest, biggest, or coolest technologies.


The future… a choice at Cape Cod

There was great synergy and agreement and a vision gathering momentum.

• The participants considered a variety of challenges that had the potential of improving human life and condition, driving extraordinary technical innovation. The priority:

• THE ACHIEVEMENT OF UNIVERSAL LITERACY.


Literacy could….• Enhance progress in education, health, the

environment, etc..);

• A multi-disciplinary approach: Experts in:

education in developing countries, linguistics, language education, cognitive psychology, anthropology, educational technology, low-power electronics, robust electronics, human computer interaction, visual languages, natural language processing and computer scientists.


Driving the innovation...

• The need and critical issues in literacy and working to the solution would drive the innovation.

• Solving the societal problem would be the motivation; not inventing for invention’s sake.


Driving the innovation...

• This initiative expects to make significant progress in addressing literacy issues in the developing and developed world through research, development, and deployment of IT approaches.


Institute for Women and Technology

• Increase impact of women on all aspects of technology.

• Increase the positive impact of women on technology on the lives of the world’s women.

• Help communities, industry, education, and government benefit from these increases.

• Source: http://www.iwt.org


Institute for Women and Technology

• A broader, richer technology, reflecting a more humanistic perspective in its use.

• This opens the door for women to bring their whole selves to the job.

• It will do the same thing for men.• It will open up areas of richness and avenues of

creativity and collaboration.

• Source: http://www.iwt.org


Conclusion

To achieve this vision, we need:

• More female engineers and computer scientists shaping and designing the technologies that shape our lives.

• Provide tools and training to women in developing countries

• We can all be part of the solution!

Documents

Monique Frize, March 6, 2003 The Digital Divide: North/South and Gender Dr. Monique Frize, P. Eng., O.C. Professor Systems & Computer Engineering Dept