Gender statistics in Information and Communication Technology for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Dorothy Okello, dkokello@cedat.mak.ac.ug Annual Gender Statistics Forum Tuesday, 14th November 2017, Hotel Africana, Kampala

Presentation Outline Global commitments to Gender & ICT Addressing Gender & ICT Barriers Recommended action areas to reduce gender digital gap Digital Gender Gap Audit What we are collecting? (The story for Uganda) Gender Statistics: What next? Concluding Remarks

Growth in Global Internet User Gender Gap International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s estimates Growth in Global Internet User Gender Gap 11% in 2013 12% in 2016

Global commitments to Gender & ICT Three areas among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the gender digital divide SDG 5b: Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology (ICT), to promote the empowerment of women SDG 9c: Achieve universal, affordable Internet access in least developed countries by 2020 SDG 1.4: Ensure equal access to basic services [and] appropriate new technology for all women and men by 2030

Addressing Gender & ICT Barriers Affordable Access Improved understanding of affordability issues; innovating to reduce the cost of devices and services; improving network coverage, capacity and quality; and providing public access facilities. Addressing threats that prevent access and use Researching and understanding threats; increasing awareness of threats and how they can be addressed or reduced; developing safety applications and services; and strengthening protection measures and reporting procedures. Improving digital literacy and confidence Understanding women’s needs; investing in education and capacity-building initiatives; developing skills and confidence; supporting educators; and supporting and promoting female role models Relevant content, apps and services Building awareness; developing relevant content and services; and consulting and engaging women Source: Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide. Recommendations for action: Bridging the gender gap in Internet and broadband access and use. March 2017

Recommended Action Areas DATA Need to collect, analyse, and track gender-disaggregated data Need for greater research into women’s access to and use of the Internet Priority for publishing and sharing data & research Source: Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide

Recommended action areas to reduce gender digital gap …/2 Strategies, policies, plans and budgets Establishing gender equality targets for Internet and broadband access and use; assessing strategies, policies, plans and budgets for gender equality considerations; and consulting and involving women as well as relevant local communities and experts Measures to address the barriers faced by women Implementing programs to address the barriers faced by women and girls in access and utilisation of ICTs Promote women in the technology sector including into positions of decision-making This includes addressing gender barriers to ICT education and training for women and girls as well as addressing women’s recruitment, retention and promotion to decision-making positions in the technology sector Enhancing cooperation between Stakeholders Developing and sharing tools, guidelines and case studies to support national and international efforts to address the digital gender gap; and supporting and encouraging multi-stakeholder cooperation and sharing of expertise

Digital Gender Gap Audit How do we know the Digital Gender Gap? Example: Web Foundation Digital Gender Gap Audit Scorecard Develop evidence and monitor country progress towards closing the digital gender gap Support the development and implementation of policy measures to achieve SDGs on women and technology   The Scorecard supports a gender gap assessment of the digital divide Internet access and Women’s Empowerment Affordability Digital Skills and Education Relevant Content and Services for Women Online Safety

What we are collecting? (The story for Uganda) Key Sources: Uganda Communications Commission Includes information from ICT service providers and telecommunications operators Uganda Bureau of Statistics International Telecommunication Union Web Foundation / Alliance for Affordability Internet (A4AI)

Internet Access and Women Empowerment Source: UCC, 2015

We can also get supporting evidence from usage by location – given that the majority of women are based in rural areas What is the status of women’s empowerment as a result of ICTs?

Affordability Sustainable Development Goal 9c commits governments to have universal and affordable access to ICTs by 2020 Access to energy a key issue too

There is a direct relationship between price and level of access among women! Price not the only factor as evidenced by case of Kenya

Digital Skills and Education Even for those who could afford, skills and access remain key barriers

Relevant Content While not segregated by sex – content both in terms of material and language are issues to be addressed Even from 3 years ago, there are already concerns about surveillance and privacy invasion

Online Safety Source: Online Safety Score – Women’s Rights Online (2016) Concerns about safety and harassment online have been shown to be key factors influencing some women’s decision to “keep away” from ICT

Good Example: World Bank Indicators for Monitoring Gender and ICT Gender Statistics: What next? Need for Quantitative and Qualitative Gender and ICT Statistics Good Example: World Bank Indicators for Monitoring Gender and ICT Internet access and usage Content Employment Education ICT Telecommunications Policy Participation in telecommunication & ICT decision making Differential impact of ICTs on men and women Participation in ICT projects

Gender Statistics: What next Gender Statistics: What next? …/2 Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development – ICT Indicators ICT infrastructure and access (10 indicators) Basis for UCC access and usage survey ICT access and use by households and individuals (19 indicators) ICT access and use by enterprises (12 indicators) ICT sector and trade in ICT goods (4 indicators) ICT in education (9 indicators) ICT in government (7 indicators)  Adapt to collect sex-disaggregated ICT statistics e.g. at household or individual or enterprise levels Adapt to understand gendered usage: Proportion of individuals using a mobile phone, by type of activity Proportion of individuals not using the Internet, by type of barrier

Concluding Remarks Issues and barriers faced by women and girls in benefiting from potential of ICTs well known Measurement essential to guide policies and programs to close the gender gap

Thank you for your kind attention!