PREPARING AND ALIGNING GIRLS FOR ICT CAREERS IN A KNOWLEDGE BASED ECONOMY

Economic growth is increasingly driven by knowledge, and no country can remain competitive without applying knowledge. An advance in the Science and Technology base across a wide range of fields, from Information Communication Technology (ICT), to Bio-technology, to science materials, provides potential for countries to accelerate and strengthen their economic and social development. The knowledge economy provides efficient ways to produce goods and services and deliver them more effectively, and at lower costs, to greater number of people.

ICTs constitute another important tool that can help women in many aspects of their lives, by supporting economic empowerment, livelihoods, and access to education. Community ICT centres, for instance, can be an effective vehicle to help women acquire literacy and numeracy skills, learn about reproductive health and financial issues, and become socially and politically active.

ICTs can also improve governance and access to government services, disseminate traditional knowledge, and improve and update traditional products and skills.

For the attainment of a knowledge-based economy, Kenya will require accelerating investment in robust and secure infrastructure. For Kenya to be in this end, there should be development of creative, competitive and sustainable ICT in the country; the creation of employment in the sectors, the sharing of skills across Kenya and collaboration on ICT Innovation initiatives in order to improve the quality of life of women especially young girls, setting the country on a higher trajectory of economic and social development. 

Women are technology developers, producers and users. In many parts of the developing world, women play a key role in food production and household nutrition, working up to 13 hours per day in agriculture-related and food preparation activities, including planting, weeding, harvesting, processing, and cooking. They are often the holders of traditional knowledge, for instance on seeds, production techniques, climate, soil conditions, and seasonal plant cycle calendars. Women, however, do not only rely on using ancient methods and materials: they also experiment and develop new techniques, for example to improve seeds, better manage pests, and conserve food. Their role, however, is often not formally recognized.

Access to technology is a key to improving women’s and girls’ lives. Technologies, while designed for a primary goal, often have benefits that extend to many other aspects of a person’s life. For example, easier access to safe water both improves health and sanitation, and reduces women’s and girls’ work burden, therefore freeing up time for other activities. Solar energy can transform a community by, among others, preventing eye strain, providing light for children to study by, and allowing longer storage of food.

To  better  respond  to  the  needs  of  women, it  is  important  to  integrate  users’ concerns in the technology development process, by making research and development more participatory and user-driven.

Globalization  and  trade  are  other  issues  that  impact  on  women’s  access  to technology and technology-related work. They can provide opportunities for women,  for  instance  by  creating  work  in  the  service  sector,  call  centres, electronics manufacturing, and by opening new markets for women. However, they can also exacerbate existing inequalities by disrupting women’s work and profit margins in certain sectors, such as agriculture.

Systematically include gender analysis, and consult with women on design, use and deployment of technologies that support women’s needs in all tasks they undertake.

Undertake gendered situational analysis/assessment and gender analysis of programming and implementation for all science, technology and innovation (STI)-related actions, policies and programmes.

Review and assess existing technologies, practices and models for lessons learned and replication or scaling up to the national level.

Ensure women’s and men’s participation in all decision-making bodies as well as in the design, planning and implementation of STI programmes and policy.

Harness   women’s   knowledge   networks   and   information   channels   to disseminate technologies.

Promote  women’s  and  girls’  use  of  ICTs,  and  in  particular  of  social networking tools and applications, as a tool to access and share information, including in the context of emergency situations.

Ensure that women have access to government services and information, including government-issued licenses, certificates and permits, through web portals, mobile services, and mixed technologies.

Train women in using and maintaining ICTs, as well as developing content, applications and software, including free and open source software.

Promote the development of content that speaks to women’s interests, responsibilities and activities, and ensure its accessibility, including through the use of local languages and audio-visual materials.

Women’s participation in entrepreneurship and innovation is key to job-creation, wealth-generation and national economic growth. The participation of women in the establishment, management and leadership of medium and large-scale enterprises, including technology-related companies, is an important factor for national innovation.