Gender Issues in the Information Society

"Unless gender issues are fully integrated into technology analyses, policy development and programme design, women and men will not benefit equally from ICTs and their applications."

Published by UNESCO, this 83-page book aims to illustrate the evolution of the international debate on gender and information technology, contrasts the impact of infrastructural and gender-specific constraints on women's capacity to exploit the potential of ICTs in different world regions and looks at the cross-cutting role of gender in determining participation in the information society. The book also aims to examine strategies, initiatives and best practices aimed at bridging the gender divide, and proposes a range of actions to be considered by the various stakeholders.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Gender and the Digital Divide

• From Beijing to the World Summit on the Information Society
• A world of differences
• Issues in the Gender Digital Divide
  • Socio-cultural and institutional barriers
  • Access, control and effective use
  • Education, training and skills development
  • Content and language
  • Pornography, trafficking, violence against women and censorship
  • Cost, time and mobility
  • Gender segregation in employment
  • Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property rights
  • ICT Policy and governance
  • Absence from decision-making structures
  • Privacy, security and surveillance
  • Right to communicate
  • Women, place-based activism and virtual politics
  • Concluding remarks
• Bridging the divide: New initiatives, best practicesPolicy frameworks
  • Connectivity and access
  • Content and technology choice
  • Awareness, training and education
  • Combining access with social empowerment for women
• Towards and beyond the WSIS
  • Principles
  • Actions
  • Process

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