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On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Centre for Women organized a conference, African Women and Economic Development: Investing in Our Future (28 April to 1 May 1998). One of the major themes of the conference was “African women and the information age: a rare opportunity.” In plenary and working-group sessions, the issues discussed included ways to make policies on information and communication technologies (ICTs) relevant to women, ICTs as tools for democratization, the impact of ICTs on women’s work, and building women’s capacity to make use of these technologies. The contributors to this book played a key role in the discussions of this theme. 

Conference participants recommended priority areas for action, stressing the need to disseminate information to women and policymakers on the potential impact of ICTs on women in Africa, to spark women’s interest in having their voices heard in this debate, and to improve opportunities for women to become ICT literate. In the information age, women risk becoming stereotyped in the manner of traditional media and failing to become the creators of information. Conference participants also recognized the usefulness of categorizing female users and conducting a needs assessment to establish the priorities of various groups, such as businesswomen, rural producers, parliamentarians, and health-care providers. Because women carry out roughly two-thirds of all the agricultural tasks in Africa, they can certainly benefit from ICTs for agricultural applications. Businesswomen and female artisans can reach markets throughout the world, as the World Bank-initiated “virtual souk” (virtual market) project demonstrated during the conference. 

According to statistics from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the vast majority of women in Africa are still illiterate (as of 1995, the figure was 54% for women older than 15), and even today, most girls are not receiving more than primary education (in 1996, 45% of students enrolled in first-level schooling in Africa were girls, but many of them did not even complete this level). So how can they be expected to operate within an emerging new knowledge-based world order? On the threshold of a new millennium, most African women have not entered the information age. What does this mean for the future of Africa? The contributors to this book have addressed the question of the role of education and women’s access to, and understanding of, ICTs. Knowledge can help to increase options and choices in one’s life, but an information infrastructure is also needed. This includes physical infrastructure, as well as a minimal level of knowledge and skills to make use of the equipment. New technologies may also offer women opportunities in distance learning, which is more flexible than traditional educational approaches. In policy formulation, it is also important to consider youth’s access to knowledge of ICTs, computers, and their use. 

Conference participants also discussed the potential importance of ICTs in the development of democratic systems of governance and in facilitating women’s input into decision-making structures. An open society, with free access and flow of information, promotes a culture of participatory government. Exchanging information with other countries and regions of the world, in turn, strengthens the position of countries in the globalization process. Strategies for integrating a gender perspective in ICT policies in Africa are an essential first step to enabling women’s voices to be heard. 

One of the actions recommended by conference participants was to develop tools for ownership to ensure long-term commitment and sustainability. Nowadays, information can be created more easily than before; however, we cannot lose sight of the question of who has access to information. Control of information is often a source of power. Women must not miss the chance to create, use, and access information to improve their lives and participate in the economic, political, and social life of their communities and countries. 

The aim of this book is to raise awareness among policymakers and civil society of what is at stake for women in the information age. It makes a strong case for ensuring that gender is an issue and ultimately aims to take the discussions and recommendations of the conference one step further and stimulate action at the policy level. 
 

Josephine Ouedraogo
Director, African Centre for Women
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
June 1999 

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