Eva Rathgeber writes about the necessity of recognising women and men having different patterns of using computers and internet and the importance of national governments employing gender analysis when launching eGovernment initiatives.
As more and more people become connected worldwide, information and communications technology (ICT) optimists anticipate that the technologies will overcome barriers of geography and distance, providing opportunities within national and across international boundaries for users to have instant access to relevant knowledge and information. Most industrialized countries and some developing countries already are providing many e-government services to their citizens, often with positive outcomes
However, most e-government initiatives have been designed without recognizing that women and men everywhere have different patterns of interaction with computers and the Internet. In many industrialized countries, female use of the Internet is comparable to that of males, but women use it mostly for practical purposes, i.e. to find specific information or to shop. Women and girls are less likely to spend time surfing and playing computer games. In most developing countries, women are less likely than men to use the Internet because they do not have access, they do not have skills, they do not have disposable income or they do not have time and/or interest. Therefore the notion that ICTs can be a vehicle for making government services and public participation more widespread is flawed by the simple fact that men and women have different user patterns. From this perspective, the move towards digitization of government services may be further marginalizing women.
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