| De: |
Oreoluwa Somolu [ Profil ] |
| Sujet: |
Re: [ycdogender] statement on week 1: social not technical issues matter
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| Envoyé: |
Nov 7th, 2003 - 08:07:21 |
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Hello all,
I'm very happy to join this discussion, albeit a little late!
I'm passionately interested in exploring ways in which more girls and women
can be encouraged to more actively use technology.
I currently work in an educational non for profit organization in Boston, MA
as a technology associate, developing and managing a project website. I
serve as adviser on how technology can be used efficiently to leverage the
work of the project. My previous work has included research on how women
engage with technology, with emphasis on online learning courses.
I have worked with various community technology centers in the Boston area
to implement their technology programs. This has ranged from supervising
technology labs to teaching. My most recent experience involves assisting
with a web design class, in which the students range from teenagers to sixty
something women. It is truly empowering to see people learning how
technology can work for them.
Research has shown that both young girls and women have traditionally tended
to be more hesitant than their male counterparts when engaging with
technology. If girls weren't being shunted off to play with dolls, while
boys hogged the computers; then they were playing with software targeted at
girls- read: frequent and liberal use of flowery and stereotypical girly
images. It's not wonder that many girls have felt that technology either was
not for them or that their use should be limited to certain uses.
However, some things are changing. In my place of work, for example, many
women are making very sophisticated uses of technology. However, I have to
acknowledge that the type of organization I work for and the city I live in
attracts highly educated women, who are less intimidated by technology, and
as such are not representative of women everywhere.
I am very interested in hearing from women from developing countries. I am
from Nigeria and know that we don't have a written ICT national strategy, as
yet. The predominant obstacle to technology use among my peers tends to be
less of intimidation by technology or their male counterparts, but more of
access to the technology itself. Although, cyber cafes are more plentiful
than a decade ago, access from home is less common. I hoping that
competition will generate more options for consumers. However without a
cohesive policy effort setting some guidelines to aid this development, this
process can seem very piecemeal with parts of the country moving faster than
others; and certain groups being shut out because they cannot afford to pay
for access.
I'm looking forward to hear from other participants.
Oreoluwa Somolu.
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