Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is said to have had the highest global socio-economic impact in the past decade. ICTs have revolutionised the way we interact, socialise, do business, run governments and serve people. While the benefits of ICT in economic and social transformation are recognised in Africa and beyond, its benefits have been unevenly distributed based on gender differences. Barriers such as cost, social norms, network coverage, security and harassment, trust and technical literacy all contribute to the fact that women in developing countries are less likely to have access to mobile (and smart) phones than men, which inhibits their ability to connect to their world and communities in the same way. Moreover, these access constraints have a ripple effect as they contribute to the low levels of digital literacy women experience. Even when women do own mobile phones, there is a significant gender gap in usage, and this is even more pronounced when it comes to transformational services, such as the use of mobile internet. While this may be a global problem, it is more pronounced in Africa where a majority of the women are poor and live in rural areas.
Barriers such as cost, social norms, network coverage, security and harassment, trust and technical literacy all contribute to the fact that women in developing countries are less likely to have access to mobile (and smart) phones than men, which inhibits their ability to connect to their world and communities in the same way.
In Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and in the ICT sector — in technical roles, women are poorly represented; the same is true in decision-making positions and in digital entrepreneurship. Only about 30 percent of employees in telecommunications and other ICT-related industries are female. Even when women do participate in the tech sector, evidence shows that their attrition rate is high; several sources have shown that they leave science and engineering jobs at higher rates than their male counterparts (Ashcraft, McLain, & Eger, 2016; Gumpertz, Durodoye, Griffith, & Wilson, 2017; Hunt, 2010). Their reasons for doing so are varied: some researchers attribute it to family life demands, while others believe the true culprit is workplace discrimination which is shaped by factors like unequal pay, low access to advancement opportunities, a patriarchal culture, and an unfriendly environment. In addition to these challenges, these industries also face the ‘leaky pipeline issue’ — the number of women in STEM falls continuously from secondary school to university level and to the ICT sector.
Female technology entrepreneurs also face gender specific challenges. Studies indicate that women generally have less access to financing and training on how to start a business than men. In the start-up world, research shows that female-founded start-ups receive only two percent of total investments by venture capitalists; it is argued that if given equal opportunities, female entrepreneurs would excel. Research from the Kauffman Foundation shows that technology companies led by women are more capital-efficient, achieving 35 percent higher return on investment, and, when venture-backed, bringing in 12 percent higher revenue than male-owned tech companies. Forbes found that despite having received 50 percent less venture capital funding, women technology entrepreneurs produce 20 percent higher revenues than their male counterparts <1>. From these statistics alone, it is evident that women have great potential to succeed, if given equal opportunities. This not only benefits women themselves, but economies as a whole. McKinsey reports that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025 <2>.
If women — who account for half of world’s population — do not achieve their full economic potential, then our economies will not attain sustainable and inclusive development.
Women’s empowerment in the technological era is crucial. With the world on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution, we need to ensure that women contribute to, and benefit equally from the digital revolution. It is imperative that we ensure digital equality so that women are not only end users of ICT, but are also fully involved in the production, development, innovation and decision making process in the sector. This starts with ensuring equal access to education opportunities, encouraging women’s particular interest in STEM subjects from early schooling all the way to ensuring equity in the employment pipeline. We must foster a culture of gender diversity and also address networking issues that female tech entrepreneurs face. Concurrently, there is an urgent need to deploy radical and concerted efforts to address the deeper cultural barriers and stereotypes that women face in accessing, using technology and participating in the technology sector in order to unleash the full potential of ICTs. After all, if women — who account for half of world’s population — do not achieve their full economic potential, then our economies will not attain sustainable and inclusive development.
Hence, two inter-related characteristics have informed the choices I have made in my career: my desire to catalyse transformational change, and my drive to create opportunities for women and youth by leveraging the power of innovation and technology. This quest led me to work at the African Development Bank (AfDB), where I lead the work-stream on Gender and Technology. In this role, I mainstream gender in AfDB’s ICT projects and advice and design innovative projects that have the potential to bring a critical mass of African women into the access, use, creation and leadership of technology. The overall goal is to catalyse their inclusive participation in the digital economy, which is prerequisite for Africa’s digital transformation.
<1> Women in Technology: Evolving Ready to Save the World research conducted by Kauffman Foundation.
<2> Mckinsey Global Institute, “The Power of Parity: How advancing Women’s Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth,” (September, 2015)
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