Workshop co-ordinator: Buhle Mbambo,
University of Botswana Library, Botswana.

Subject:
The workshop explores human, technological and social barriers to women's access to information technology and suggests strategies for overcoming those barriers.

Presentation 1
Christine Kanyengo (University of Cape Town, South Africa):
The role of libraries in ensuring women's access to information technology in Zambia. Women in Zambia suffer in accessing information resources due to a variety of reasons of socio-cultural, political, economic and educational nature, among which poverty and illiteracy.
The library network in Zambia comprises of educational libraries, libraries connected to hospitals, government departments, NGO's and libraries provided by the Zambia Library Service with connections to rural communities. The usage of information technology (ICT) in the libraries that have ICT is pre-dominantly for in-house processes. The Zambia Library Service and the NGO's should cooperate to create projects that would avail women with access to IT through equipping libraries especially those in the rural areas with ICT. The attendant problems are the inadequate electrical power supply, high telephone bills, poor telecommunications networks, few qualified IT engineers and a high illiteracy rate.
Libraries first of all should deal with the non-availability of libraries in most rural communities; NGO's could fill in the gap. A community-based library and information centre would augment the services offered by the NGO's and government departments. Libraries and NGO's should forge partnerships to share expertise and the costs.

Presentation 2 Monica Grilli (Italian women's network Lilith, Italy):
Telematic experimentation on the theme Time and Space. The Italian network of documentation centres, archives and libraries created, develops and maintains several databases on bibliographical and archival records (http://www.women.it/lilith) hosted by ServerDonna of the Associazone Orlando in Bologna. Apart from these databases an experiment is being conducted: a website on the theme of Time and Space.
ICT represents a new area for experimentation especially with respect to the forms of interactivity it makes possible. On the occasion of the wide-ranging debate in Italy on the 35-hour working week and the reorganization of working hours women tried through this project to export the knowledge from independent women's places to a public space and to share the vast wealth of research and information sources acquired by women. The website is designed to invite active participation in exploring the interpretation of the theme time and space.

Presentation 3
Lynda Forrest (Women's Information Service -WIS- and the Office for the Status of Women, South Australia): Women serving the Net, their way in SA.
The presentation highlights the positive experiences of the WIS women in grasping information technologies. The Women's Information Service (WIS) launched into cyberspace by developing a homepage (WISnet Online with the Women's Gateway) and the Women's Internet Access Programm (WIAP). Some of the hurdles women encounter in accessing Internet are the sexist culture, patriarchal attitude, the elitist language, practical, financial, geographical obstructions, socialisation and a low profile of women on the Internet. The overall aim of the programm, started in 1996, is to provide a safe, supportive environment for women with little or no computing experience to learn how to use Internet. In the WIS premises terminals are available for Internet access. In five sessions women using the WIS-created self-help Guides to the Internet receive guidance from WIS staff and support while exploring Internet. Late 1997 the programm was extended to rural areas (WIAP Rural), run by community based women in a local community hall or a group of community health nurses travelling with a note book computer, for example. By WIAP women develop new skills, knowledges and ownership of information, they are less dependent on others for accessing information and they are able to pass on these skills.

Presentation 4
Buhle Mbambo (University of Botswana Library, Botswana): African women's usage of the Internet : a study of women's organisation's access tot the Internet in Botswana.
The presentation starts with a situational analysis of women's organisation's access to information technology and ownership of ICT in Botswana generally. Between January and April 1998 a case study was conducted to the usage of ICT by women's organisation affiliated to the women's NGO's coalition and based in Gaborone. The study revealed a poor connectivity, a need for training and current usage largely limited to email, not yet extended to WWW. Those women that are connected use their Internet connections for communication with like minded colleagues abroad. Lack of appreciation of the value of ICT seems to be an obvious barrier to women's access. At a recent meeting of the Steering Committee on the formation of a network, as key strategies were identified: training of women on using IT, computer awareness raising education to bring about an appreciation of ICT, encouraging internet connection and the creation of a list-serve. With more local connectivity Internet would not be a medium of transmitting ideas from information rich to information poor but rather a facilitator of local communication primarily while also enabling global conversation.
Internet should not be consumed but exploited by women in Botswana to meet local needs.

Discussion:

- Ownership of and control over ICT and the infrastructure is a technical problem but also a social and political; very few women are in positions high enough to have any control.

- Sexual harassment via the Internet as a barrier should be taken seriously, but women should learn how to cope with it rather then being scared off.

- Women need to learn about the relevance of Internet; if they appreciate the value, technophobia would not be such a barrier.

- Money, financing is the major barrier for acces to IT, but the attitude of women concerning IT is important as well.

Recommendations:

1- Provide awareness raising in ICT usage, in order to break technophobia and other social barriers.

2- Training in a non-hostile environment

3- Creation of local discussion groups - acting locally while thinking globally.

4- Raising funds to enable organisations to pay for connectivity.

This page last updated on september 9, 1998. Copyright © 1998 IIAV.

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