Women and Girls in ICT - World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2012

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2012, 17 May - Women and Girls in ICT

Jidaw Systems in conjunction with the African Information Security Association (AISA) will hold a special session on the empowerment of women with ICTs during the May 19, 2012, FREE IT Career Seminar to mark the 2012 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has announced “Women and Girls in ICT” as the theme of the 2012 WTISD.

Every year on May 17, WTISD ITU highlights issues that are important to ensuring that the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) are deployed and used to drive development and make significant impact in closing the digital divide. In recent years themes have ranged from Child Online protection, Better life with ICTs in cities, Better Life with ICTs for rural development. This year ITU invites everyone to raise issues involved in the impact and progressive development of women in ICT.

Women and Girls in ICT” session

Jidaw’s special “Women and Girls in ICT” session will celebrate the achievements of women in ICT, inform and encourage women and men about the impact women have in ICT and will promote the advancement and empowerment of women through ICTs. Jidaw further intends to employ the special session as a means of sensitizing the public and raising public awareness on policies, practices and action required to advance and empower women and promote gender equality with ICTs.

In addition, ITU encourages that the international “Girls in ICT Day” should be marked every year on the fourth Thursday of April. This year the “Girls in ICT Day” will be held on 26 April 2012. ITU states that members should “ host events where girls and young women are invited to ICT companies and government agencies to appreciate the opportunities the ICT sector holds for their future”.

Advancement and Empowerment of women in ICT

In line with this theme, Jidaw’s blog on the advancement and empowerment of women in ICT, the Women in ICT Blog advocates the promotion of ICT opportunities for women and girls through practical actions and the adoption of strategies and policies geared towards closing the gender digital gap. Already the Women in ICT Blog promotes women in ICT efforts through the regular provision of content promoting the advancement and empowerment of women through ICTs. As part of its ICT4D advocacy efforts, the Women in ICT Blog will work with other stakeholders in ICT to mark May 17, 2012.

Women play an important role in society but without full involvement and participation in ICT, are they living to their full potentials? Can there be real development in society if inequalities exist and persist even in areas that drive significant change such as ICT? What can be done to ensure that our communities and societies benefit fully from the ideas, strengths and energies of women and girls through ICT?

Empower women and create the future

Empowering girls and women to live their dreams enables them to use their talents and skills to contribute and meet the needs of society. ICT is a powerful tool that must be harnessed for this purpose. Jidaw joins the ITU in insisting that at all levels ICTs should be deployed “to provide new digital opportunities to end discrimination and empower the female half of the world’s population to achieve their rightful place as equals in the world”.

Through the Women in ICT Blog, Jidaw continually encourages more girls and women to invest in ICT and build professional careers in the ICT sector in significant numbers through IT career talks, awareness campaigns, stakeholder forums, mentoring programs, career initiatives, funding/scholarship programs and policies. Jidaw in addition advocates for meaningful, well thought through, pro-people strategies and policies that facilitate the increased participation at the highest level in policy making and decision making in ICT.

Let’s use the 2012 WTISD to highlight digital opportunities, expand horizons and change our attitudes on Women and Girls in ICT. This theme should influence our work not only on WTISD but throughout the year and in the future as well. Empower women and create the future.

Contact Jidaw

Address: 12 Eric Moore Street, Wemabod Estate, Off Adeniyi Jones Ave, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.

Tel: 08052647395, 01-7940562, 01-8958064, 07052509148, 08035007778

E-mail: training@jidaw.com

The reality of IT and Women

March 8, 2012 is another Women's day. What is the reality regarding the empowerment of women as Information Technology (IT) users, professionals or entrepreneurs? We are thankful for the women that have made great strides but what really is the overall picture of women within the IT sector?

Are women using IT to learn, connect and improve their work and businesses? There has certainly been growth in terms of usage by women, especially in usage of cell phones, laptops, internet, ATMs, online social networks and the acquisition of basic computing skills. But is this the reality in rural communities? 

The IT usage trend is really restricted to women in the urban areas, in particular those in the formal sector, the educated and the rich. The majorities in the urban poor (women and men) are still largely excluded and are not fully using technology to improve themselves or contribute meaningfully. And in fact most people living in the rural areas, especially women, live in a different world, where IT does not exist. The bitter reality is that excluded groups however constitute the majority in the populace.

Beyond usage, what is the truth of women in the IT sector?

This is the sector that drives innovation? How many women are IT entrepreneurs or professionals? Even though there is relatively improved participation of women in Nigeria’s IT sector; growth has been however an urban experience. How many women run businesses that provide IT and IT enabled products and services compared to men? 

Very few women are IT entrepreneurs. Visit most IT firms and you find most women work in customer service, admin, marketing, clerical, data entry positions while only a few work in core technical areas of programming, networking, web development, database management, etc. Please note that there are exceptions; I’m painting an overall picture. There are great women making impact in IT but women are largely underrepresented in this sector. The overall state of affairs regarding women in IT is far from what it should be.

Progress in IT without Women?

Women are simply not visible enough in the core, creative and critical areas of IT. If Nigeria is to grow as a nation and become globally competitive, IT must be strategically deployed for development. 

• We cannot be serious about IT for development if we depend on foreign IT expertise. 
• We cannot be serious about IT for development if we are not building local human capital required in this age of innovation and technological change. 
• In view of the strategic role of entrepreneurship and innovation Nigeria must have sufficient numbers of people with IT expertise. 

Seriously, can we fulfill our potentials in IT if 50 percent of the potential workforce is ignored and excluded? Seriously?

Join the Women in ICT blog in celebrating the achievements of women in IT. And let's keep pushing. There is still a lot of work to be done.

The Empowerment of Women with ICTs

What is the future without the empowerment of women with information and communications technologies (ICTs)? Jidaw created the Women in ICT Blog to sensitize the public and create awareness on policies, practices and action required to advance and empower women and promote gender equality with ICTs. 

The recognition of women falls within the underlying concern of gender inequality. Genders are not the same, but do women have equal opportunities and access to resources? The gender equality focus is often on the position and issues of women because women deserve not just better treatment but equality. Gender imbalances with regard to access to important rights, opportunities and resources generally have a more negative impact on women and girls than men and boys.

So while the Women in ICT Blog is a resource for the celebration of the positives (women who have achieved); it is also for highlighting the negatives and the work that still needs to be done. 

We all need equality in how we are treated and equality in access to opportunities. Gender inequality is real – do women have the same opportunities to develop their capacities and talents? Are legal, marketing, customer care, catering, secretarial, entertainment, fashion and modeling the only career areas where women can excel? And we also need to take off our urban glasses - most women in Nigeria live in rural areas. Are girls and women in the rural communities really living their dreams? Or aren’t they allowed to dream?

All women have the right to participate fully in society – the right to work, vote, be educated, to seek political office, to contribute to society, to live their dreams. But Stone Age stereotyping, discrimination and inequalities limit the contributions of women. And in the patriarchal, male centred society, women are victims of rape, harmful practices and other forms of inhuman gender related violence.

Celebrating the Contributions of Women

Considering the challenges women have to face to live their dreams and realize their potentials in a male dominated world, we have no option but to recognize, respect, commend and celebrate the contributions of women.

Over the years, there have been significant changes and improvements regarding gender equality in society. All around the globe, more interest is being shown in the role of women in society. Visibility has improved in critical sectors. The number of women having real choices, outside the prisons of stereotype, has increased. Battles have been won, and women’s issues are being brought to the forefront. Though we must acknowledge the gains, the overall picture is a mixed bag and experiences differ from country to country. Some have made more progress than others. The truth however is that for many, gender equality is still a distant dream. Women are still not present in equal numbers in critical areas of business, education, technology and politics. And we must question our humanity because violence against women is still a troubling reality.

The Women in ICT Blog aims to remind the world of these issues, raise awareness, highlight the concerns and struggles of women and celebrate women who have achieved despite the odds. How should we ensure that gains are maintained, more barriers are broken and new frontiers are established in all aspects of life?

The gender equality challenge is about humanity and development. There is a direct relationship between the empowerment of women and reduction of poverty. If women can’t improve themselves, who suffers? How seriously do we want to address the problems of poverty, maternal and child mortality and illiteracy if women aren’t empowered? The promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women is in the best interest of everyone. For a better world, girls and women need support, opportunities and access to resources to develop their capabilities, talents and live their dreams. It’s about fulfilling their potentials to improve themselves and their communities. Exclusion and discrimination wastes the important contributions of women.

The bottom-line is that with support women can go very far. What value does society place on women? Hewers of wood or positive change agents? We must reject the iniquitous and seriously flawed socially constructed roles, behaviour and expectations of women and men. There are no sub-humans. You are either human or you’re not. Human beings are women and men. Not half men and men.

The Future Generation

For a better world, women need to shine without limits. The world needs their knowledge, ideas, strengths, presence, stories and experience in all areas. And women must be able to shape their own future. You see until women are full citizens and actors in social, economic, political and technological fields societies can’t benefit from their capabilities. It is a local, national and global concern (for equality, self discovery and sustainability). The empowerment of women is not a luxury but a necessity for a sustainable world. Global recognition and celebration of women is based on the realization that the empowerment of women is a condition for a better today and a REAL future of hope. It isn’t just about today. What about young girls and boys? The future generation?

Technology is the infrastructure of today’s world. It is a powerful tool that affects our future; it can’t be ignored in the quest for empowerment. Can we really talk about the advancement of women and gender equality in the absence of technology? Who are we kidding?

Jide Awe

Founder, Jidaw.com
Master Computers
Nigeria Computers

Women in ICT: Mrs. Jibike Itegboje

Women in ICT - Mrs. Jibike Itegboje

The Women in ICT blog recognizes and celebrates the achievements of Mrs. Jibike Itegboje, an outstanding computer professional who has an enviable track record in the computing profession.

Jibike Itegboje has been Director of Management Information Systems (MIS), Yaba College of Technology. In the profession, Mrs. Itegboje focuses on education and administration and how to improve professionalism. Her love for growing the young has seen her deploy her long stint in the educational sector to teach, guide and mentor many young women and men starting out in the IT profession. 

In addition to being acknowledged as a great professional herself, Women in ICT blog observes that she is also an inspirational mentor to younger professionals and a leader within the computing community. 

Mrs Jibike Itegboje delivering her thought provoking address at the African Children Cyber Safety Forum in 2010

Highly respected and principled, with considerable accomplishments in the field of computing, the Women in ICT blog notes that Mrs. Itegboje is a force to be reckoned with in the promotion of professionalism within the IT sector. She is a Fellow of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and has been Chairman of several key NCS committees including the Education Committee and the Conferences committee.   

Continually making significant impact, she has deployed the leading positions she has occupied in her career to shape policies, support education and encourage the growth of young professionals.

 She has been such an inspiration and role model. Women in ICT Blog celebrates Mrs. Jibike Itegboje