ADF Panel Summary No. 7

Findings of the Gender Focus Group

Tuesday 26, October 1999

Objective: Gender is one of the ADF's cross cutting issues. A group of participants have been holding focus group sessions in a bid to ensure that the issue of gender is mainstreamed in all the outputs of the Forum, including the follow-up activities.

Summary:

The Gender focus group noted the immense inequality in terms of the numbers of women present as well as the low level of intervention and participation by the women present in panels and plenary sessions. Despite the inclusion of the gender question in the discussions, the level of analysis in the presentations and debates -- particularly on the issue of governance at the level of discussions on women in decisions making, democratization processes, and citizenship and the rights of women -- remained fuzzy.

ICTs exist within a context of domination and inequality between men and women, youth and adults. Women are already marginalized in all sectors - access to credit, education, land, etc -- and this marginalization expresses itself in all areas of ICTs.

It was recognized that the issue of globalization and the emergence of the information society were important vehicles that could lead to the advancement of the status of women and redress their marginalization in society. There was therefore a need to build the capacity of a critical mass of women in the use of ICTs.

Among the issues needed attention:

• The inclusion of women in all decision-making processes relating to ICTs;
• The development of applications, products and services that respond to the specific needs of women working, for instance, in the informal sector, to take advantage of electronic commerce without necessarily going through numerous intermediaries;
• Solutions and tools that address the lack of access to credit and credit cards;
• The need to build the capacity of women entrepreneurs to use ICTs in order to facilitate greater access to business opportunities;
• The need to educate young girls, particularly in the scientific and technical fields.

There is need to document experiences, uses and applications of communities using ICTs in order to draw lessons on adaptation and multiplication.

(END)

The full text of all speeches, statements, press releases and summaries are available on the ADF Home Page at: http://www.un.org/depts/eca   They are supported by video and audio clips of keynote addresses and other major moments. This site also includes the programme, list of participants, theme papers and other relevant background documents.

For more information on the Forum or to interview participants, please contact:

Peter da Costa
Senior Communication Adviser
Economic Commission for Africa
P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: +251-1-51 58 26
Fax: +251-1-51 03 65
Cell: +251-9-20 17 94
E-mail: dacosta@un.org  or ecainfo@uneca.org
Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca