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For the women of Bangladesh, the lack of
Information Technology (IT) opportunities has prevented the full and fair
participation of women in the development processes and thereby impeded the
achievement of more gender justice in society. A recent study on the
position of women in the Information Computer Technology sector in Bangladesh
has shown the presence of a substantial gender gap in the work force. In the
Ministry of
Science, Information and Technology for example, out of 31 fellowships for
senior researchers, only one woman received a fellowship. At the Bangladesh
Computer Council (BCC), 28% of the trainees at the foundation level computer
courses were women while only 5% at the advanced level course were women.
source:
Empowering Women through ICT:Challenges
& Opportunities: Sayema Nazneen
Information Technology (IT)
for Women Project provides information technology trainings, workshops and
seminars for women in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Workshops and trainings focuses on the preliminary areas of computing and cover
the important and relevant technologies of the workplace from word processing to
Internet technologies. We believe in active learning, classes are small,
training is interactive, courses are designed to provide hands-on experience,
and prepare participants for success. We strongly encourage participants to
attend all the classes and take advantage of this unique opportunity. These
workshops are free of charge for the under-privileged women.
The participants at the workshops are women
from different social and economic backgrounds, ages and occupations. It ranges
from women who are college students to homemakers. What unifies them is their
lack of access to information technology and their enthusiasm for expanding
their horizons using information technology.
Women who participate in this Project have
very little or no prior knowledge of information technology, also they lack
access to IT. However, realizing the need for computer literacy these women want
to gain the IT skills. Although the first batch was selected, the
subsequent participants heard about the Program through word of mouth and
expressed interest to join the Program.
Women who participate in this Project gain
hands on experience about basics of computing, office administration, and learn
about women's contribution to the society. All of the participants get
opportunities to share their experience by publishing their work and also to
network with other Bangladeshi women via the Internet.
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