Data gap bigger than gender digital divide
After examining the Internet for the availability of gender related data, it was found that useful gender disaggregated statistics is limited and old. The latest reports giving gender data was found to be of year 2002. Particularly gender and ICT data is scattered and almost non-existent. Mostly the data found was percentage female home Internet users country wise. As reported by Nancy Hafkin in one of her papers, “From both observation and anecdotal evidence, we know that there is a gender gap in the digital divide in several developed and many more developing countries, but there is virtually no data to establish it.”

Key findings on Gender and ICT

• In Asia, women constitute 20 percent of programmers (mostly in lower skilled positions), while making up the majority of workers in data processing (especially outsourced work) (Nancy Hafkin 2003)
• 37% of women in the world have access to a PC and that one third of the world’s ICT market is in Asia (USD 3 trillion e-commerce market). ( Lucita Lazo, UNIFEM)
• Percentage female home Internet users in India is 23 (NASCOM, 2000)
• However, two thirds (876 million) of the world’s illiterates are women and many women are still unable to obtain techno access so there is much to be done in order to increase opportunities for these women. (Lucita Lazo, UNIFEM) According to a ‘Report on Progress of World’s Women 2002’ by UNIFEM, there has been progress in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world - but the pace is too slow in many regions. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest levels of achievement, primarily because of a devastating combination of national poverty, conflict and the effects of HIV/AIDS.

Education

• There are an estimated 140 million illiterate young people in the world, of whom more than half – 86 million are young women.
• In the period between 1990 and 2002, there were improvements in the literacy of young women in all the countries.
• In Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia there is a lower enrolment rate for girls than boys due to rigid customs and orthodox socio-cultural matrix.
• A majority of countries have almost achieved gender equality in literacy as rising percentage of girls is enrolling in secondary education.
• 34% of the countries have achieved gender equality in youth literacy rates.
• If current rates continue, UNESCO projects that in 2015 there will be an estimated 107 million illiterate young people, and again more than half – 67 million – will be young women.

Employment

• More women work today than ever before. In 2003, 1.1 billion of the world’s 2.8 billion workers, or 40 per cent, were women, representing a worldwide increase of nearly 200 million women in employment in the past 10 years.
• Women still face higher unemployment rates, receive lower wages than men and represent 60 per cent of the world’s 550 million working poor.
• By analysing 7 labour market indicators, the Global Employment Trends for Women 2004 finds that the explosive growth in the female workforce has not been accompanied by true socio-economic empowerment for women, nor has it led to equal pay for equal work or balanced other benefits making women equal to men across nearly all occupations. In short, true equality in the world of work is still out of reach. Source: Global Employment Trends For Women 2004 http://www.ilo.org

Women in Parliament

• The level of women’s representation in national governments has been improving, but still around the world women are largely absent from parliaments, on average accounting for only about 14% of members in 2002.
• In 2002, only 11 countries had achieved the benchmark set in the Beijing Platform for Action of 30% representation by women in parliament: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Costa Rica, Argentina and Mozambique. In all of these countries quotas were legislated or adopted on a voluntary basis. <