Empowering Women Through ICT: Challenges & Opportunities
by  Sayema Nazneen

Introduction:
By definition, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a diverse set of technological tools and resources to create, disseminate, store, bring value-addition and manage information.¹ The world is in the midst of a knowledge revolution, complemented by opening up of entirely new vistas in communication technologies. Recent developments in the fields of information and communication technology are indeed revolutionary in nature. Now a days government feels no hesitation to spend hundreds of million of dollars on ICT as it reflects a powerful global belief in the transformatory nature of these technologies. Knowledge becomes the fundamental resource for all economic development activities through this process where women form an equal part. The process of synthesis of knowledge possessed across communities by men and women with the global pool of knowledge lays in the genesis for knowledge networking. ²

The Bangladesh government has placed topmost priority to human resource development in the IT field. At present, the annual output of graduates in the IT field would be around 500. The target was to produce 10,000 programmers annually by the year 2001. There are about 24 Universities offering undergraduate degree programs in IT-related fields. All the four Bangladesh Institute of Technologies (BIT) (located at Rajshahi, Chittagong, Khulna and Gazipur) were also planning to offer undergraduate degree programs in computer science and engineering from 2002. The 20 Polytechnics have also introduced 3-year diploma programs in Computer Technology. In addition, a large number of educational and training institutes, many of them with linkage with foreign institutions, are also offering training courses. One of the major problems faced by these institutions is the shortage of trainers. Recognizing this problem, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) Committee recommended that Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) should take up a crash program to train at least 1000 high-level trainers by the end of 1999. Moreover, the absence of adequate physical resources (e.g. computer hardware and software) and weakness in course-contents in the training institutions will adversely affect the quality of output from these institutions. The Government (govt.) plans to introduce an accreditation system soon. ²

1. Women in ICT: A Situational Analysis

The records in the various ICT agencies of the govt. of Bangladesh were examined to gauge gender effectiveness. The general finding was that there was no gender specific information in the ICT sector. Some analytical findings will make one understood about the subordinate position of women in the ICT sector. The data were taken for the years of 1997-2001.

a. Ministry of Science, Information and Technology: The gender gaps were evident in the various scales of fellowship offered from 1997 to 2001 revealing that 32% women received fellowships in these 4 years. The striking feature is the widening of gender gaps at the higher scale of fellowship. Out of 66 fellowships for researcher and senior researchers, only 6 to 9% were reserved for females. Out of 31 fellowships for senior researchers, only one woman received a fellowship. Moreover, for sending scholars to the foreign countries to obtain PhD or MSc degree , out of 22, respectively 23% and 5 % scholarship was provided to the women.

b. Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission: (BAEC): The personnel records of the scientists working in different departments at BAEC showed (1997-2001) a general trend of increasing gender gaps at higher levels of seniority. Out of 56 officers at chief level, only 16% were women, whereas at the junior level, the number was 31% out of 42.
 

c. Bangladesh Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (BCSIR): Here, only 21% at Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) level were women whereas at the Scientific Officer level, 33% were women.
 

d. Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) : This centre conducts training on both foundation level and various advance level computer courses. Percentage of women were 28% and 8% respectively in the Foundation and Advanced level course.
 

The Information, Communication and Technology - ICT sector was added to these sectors discussed above. The agencies that work in the ICT part of the sector, need to be aware of the gender gaps, and should take steps to actively create and promote gender equity. They should also be aware of the negative and demeaning effects of Internet images on women. Policies in this sub-sector and should protect as well as promote the positive image of women. ³

2. Aim:

In order to find out why and what sort of women are becoming interested to know the computer language and whether they are confident about achieving their goals, I undertook a study of some eleven female students of two computer centres sponsored by the govt.
 

3. Objectives:

The prime objective of this study was to find out what sort (of educational background) women were taking academic course on computer training and why.
 

The broad indicators were-

• • Their own willingness to know the advanced stages of computer language

• • Their socio-economic condition and whether they found any social/ family hindrance to get training

• • Their future plan to utilize the knowledge they are deriving from the courses

• • Difference in the course fee between the government (govt.) funded and private organizations, indicating class background of women subscribers
  
  

4. Survey Findings:

Keeping the objectives in mind I visited two govt. funded organizations- Women’s Affairs’ Department and Jatiya Mohilla Sangstha (National Women’s Federation) and tried to know the curriculum and syllabus they follow for their female students. Few non- governmental organizations were peeped just to cross-check the payment a student is bound to pay for learning computer. The private companies earn almost two times more per head (the govt. organizations charge at the most Tk. 3,000 per head for a computer package whereas the private companies charge Tk. 5,000 – 6,500 for the same package.) There are more govt. supported computer service for the female and they follow almost the same syllabus and student number.

A) Organization 1: Women’s Affairs Department : This govt. assisted department has been working for helping women empowering since 1992 through computer training taking assistance from CIDA and World Bank. It is located in a core part of the metropolitan area and is getting lots of applications each day. Participants sometimes have to wait for a couple of months to get admitted here. The government understands very well that ‘computer knowledge’ is a must for the women of today who, are stuck in their petty household activities and need to progress and possess concrete knowledge of today’s world. This media revolution has entered the minds of the general people almost as a renaissance and they feel no hesitation to call this the “computer age”. This organization, has been running on a self- financed basis since 1999 with the target to explicitly achieve women’s technical empowerment. The specific aim of this organization is to develop computer skills aimed at promoting women’s full and equal participation in development processes in order to achieve more gender justice in society. Upon completion of any courses (these days, the organization is offering five computer learning packages of which there are two advanced courses), it is expected that a participant’s professional capabilities in computing is enhanced and she is able to carry out easily operating data entry, data processing, office works, desktop publishing, software development, e-commerce product, website designing, network environment This center provides each trainee with a computer to facilitate learning. Other services include offered packages on - computer application course, computer programming course, computer graphics design course, web page design course and one year programming professional course. The basic courses have normal duration of 3-4 months teaching 5 days a week. Each shift is able to accommodate a maximum of 24 students in a batch and maximum 5 batches can take lessons at a day. The Department is comprised of a programmer, 3 assistant programmers. 1 training assistant and some external part time professional trainers to teach. This centre used to offer package to the rural women once to enhance their income generating activities. The women used to come from far areas to acquire skills and this boosted their position in the family. That program was closed due to unavailability of government funding.

B) Feedback/ Comments of the Trainers: The trainers share a common feeling about their teaching. They commented that though IT has gone far behind in the larger world, but Bangladesh still lags in basic courses. The trainees- being motivated by the media or through close acquaintance, want to learn more advance programs of computer but due to unavailability of the govt. fund and interest- the trainers have to resort to the ‘one and only' syllabus in existence since inception. Some changes have taken place but they are not adequate to meet the requisites of the trainees. For example- after learning the basic parts of a program, some participants feels an urge to know the deeper or extended version of a program which, due to unavailability of fund or training, the trainers are unable to offer them. About 95% participants follow the syllabus, which is developed and maintained to serve the purpose of getting a good job. Mushrooming of computer teaching centers are developing to meet the growing interest of participants and mainly the non-governmental parties are taking the lead role here. They observed that a participant tends to get admitted in the computer-training center nearest to their homes and they are indeed very enthusiastic to get training- to know about a new field of knowledge. Moreover, a computer programmer suggested that with the extension of computer knowledge-there is a felt need to enlarge the syllabus while at the same time the course fee should be cut-off according the capability of students to ensure entrance of interested ones.

Through interview with the programmers, I came to know that most of the participants wanted to join any company/ NGO or organization, but there were also a lot of success stories where they joined the company of their dreams. Some even got the chance in fashion designing. And here also lies the most pathetic part of the story, many participants are not getting chance in their targeted area simply because of the nepotism of the management section who tend to select non-professionals at the cost of potential candidates.

C) The Trainees: Their Feelings: Each participant did not lose a second to confidently utter, “I will stand on my own feet and be self- sufficient through empowerment as I will use this training there. I want to take decision in the family matters” and so on.

Determination of self-sustainability through earning was seen rooted in the hearts of the educated local women. They will not be able to benefit from knowledge networking processes unless specific ICT models are created or targeted to the needs of local women community. Even some participants were found who had to struggle to attend the courses from the suburb as sometimes the urge to learn computer can cost them their job. The trainees here mainly come from the middle or upper middle class and many of them were still students. Through an open questionnaire, I tried to enquire why they became interested in this area. The answers- more or less, point out the same thing- each woman wants to hold her head high with dignity through self-reliance.

D) Interviews: An open questionnaire was developed to know about the background, social status, and future plan of the participants. The questions asked to them were-
 

• • Name, educational qualification, reasons for joining the IT sector, from where they came to know about the course

• • Distance of residence from the center and whether they face any social / family problem regarding taking the computer course

• • What is their viewpoint about the training they are getting

• • What they would like to suggest to the training center so they can get more from the course

• • What is their future plan after completion of the course
  
  

I was present in 3 batches simultaneously running on the basic computer application knowledge. Each course had 20 participants and I was able to motivate a few of them to give an interview while the class went on. Most interviewees were students who were using the waiting time to get their exam results. Their responses are attached below-

1. Ms. Rippka (35): Just completed her Honors degree and is now waiting for her result. Mainly housewife. She was quite astonished when she was asked about her intentions to study the computer. She asked me how come I could even think about this age without a computer as life rotates around computers and it is absolutely necessary to accumulate knowledge on computer. She wants to develop her Curriculum Vitae and other office requisites by acquiring computer skills. She came to know about this program from newspapers. Her family and society- are both positive towards her learning the computer.


2. Ms. Polly (26) : She has just completed her honors exam from Accounting and now is waiting for the result. She has a dream to serve in the Bank or commerce related organizations. Polly thinks it an age of competition where the use of technology features prominently and she does not want to lag behind in this race. She wants to be independent and self-reliance as she thinks this is a ‘must’ for all educated women at this age. She came to know about this organization through the daily newspaper. Polly’s family encouraged her to take this lesson and she found no social obstacle.

3. Ms. Maleka (45): A school-teacher who has stepped into this world with the intention to make her students literate in this computer database. She comes from a far place with the intention to upgrade herself with the changing world as well as to save her job by coping with the new syllabus. “The colleagues”… she said “… are helpful while I come here to get classes” and in the meantime- she has to compensate her colleagues through sharing her knowledge. She thinks she has availed a good opportunity which is really needed and helpful these days. The newspaper made her aware about the course. She found distance the only the problem to learn the computer and to her- society is quite liberal these days to let a girl know computer.

4. Ms. Urmi (27): This energetic scholar girl has migrated from another district after completion of her Masters degree to settle in the capital city with her husband. Though currently a temporary housewife, she wants to continue her study and get herself admitted to Masters in Business Administration (MBA-this course has become a hot-cake to get a good package in job market). The advertisement in the daily paper made her interested to join the course. Urmi’s parents/husband did not mind- nor her neighbors when she came to know computer.
 

5. Ms. Uma (23): She thinks it is only through a hand on learning which makes a person perfect. After completing her Honors examination from Political Science- she wishes to get a part-time job and there is such opportunity since all the big shopping malls in Bangladesh counts in computer, she feels the urge to know how to insert database in computer. Her sister who was an ex-student here told her about the course. Uma also finds no enmity between family tradition and learning the computer and she is quite happy that she has made another friend circle over here.

6. Ms Rezvin (18): Rezvin is carrying out her Honors classes from a reputed Bangladeshi college. This teenage girl has gone a little far in her thinking. “You simply cannot think a day without upgrading yourself through media”. Computer - according to her – opens up a vast arena of interest and knowledge. “Even if you wish, you cannot stay in a gloomy mood as the computer has its power to make you laugh and lighten up your mind. And oh, at 18, this is the best opportunity to make friends through internet from all over the world. Computer helped me to become a smart girl”- Rezvin confesses. “And family problem?”- “No way-everyone understands where are we moving towards and what are we supposed to gain”- her straight answer.

7. Ms Marzia (36): Mother of two kids, Ms. Marzia had no option but to learn computer. Her kids have home tasks on computer and she could help them in all other subjects except this one. The daily newspaper rescued her from this panicky situation and now it is a relieving thought that she can communicate with the wide world and develop many plans to use computer. She is interested to know about the graphic side of the computer as a hobby and as an earning activity. Her family has extended their full support to her and “the society also is not reserved about this point” – she says.
 

N.B: All participants had one common interest- to insert Computer Graphics in their syllabus and make the syllabus more worthwhile.
 

E) Concluding remarks:

Women of developing countries always have to fight for their rights. Deprivation is always there and the male dominant power- structure is internalized in their consciousness. I was moved at the bold comments of the trainees who seemed very much confident to use their training and their eyes showed how serious and confident they are. Being marginalized in both home and society- it seemed the computer has opened up a dream come true chance, which they had been longing for. Most of the interviewed women (80%) were students and they were utilizing their waiting time for the results to come out by learning computers. The housewives and school-teachers are mainly taking this course to help their children as well as to maintain relationship with their family members living abroad through Internet.

F) Organization 2- National Women’s Federation: This center is also located at the core of the city and has been running its activities since 1992. Ms. Afroz Nawaz (45) was a student at this centre who entered here after completion of her Masters degree from Political Science to know about computer and also to get relief from family politics. The timid ex-student thought many times whether she would be able to understand computer language for being not “ good” in mathematics but this woman now is tackling 40 students per day here and says “ …There is no direct relation between math and computer. It is only the intensity of interest you possess to know about computer language that is the motivating factor.” The training centre offers a lucrative package for the educated middle-class women since 1996. The centre offers fundamental courses of computer (Windows 98, MS Word 7.0, MS Excel 7.0, PowerPoint, FoxPro 2.6, Access ) along with a daily allowance of Tk. 15/-. Moreover, the course fee is only Tk. 2,500/ where each month a girl gets back almost Tk. 800/-. The trainer said this started as an incentive to the trainees from the govt. The main objectives of the centre are-

• • Poverty alleviation and self-employment for poor and low income group women

• • Increase women’s participation in productive activities

• • Increase of literacy of women

• • Create social awareness among women

• • Raise the socio- economic status of f women of lower income families by making them economically self-reliant

To achieve these targets – imparting training for 12000 poor women in different trades are offered where computer training now takes a lead role. The 3 months course ends up with giving a loan of Tk. 20,000/- to each successful participant so that they can start computer business . They start repaying the loan after 8 months. The income generation can start up by taking works of data entry, spreadsheet development, logo designing of various companies/ offices. And the trainer said many doctors, housewives are now coming to know this skill as they can earn extra while sitting home and that really boosts their morale.

G) Comments of the Trainer : Ms. Nawaz thinks girls are very smart these days. As they know they have entered a world of competition, they are trying their best to cope with the world. The trainer said, they used to learn out of curiosity but now, it seems it is a “must” to her. She gauges this by the looks of the keenness and competitiveness of girls seeking admission to the course. Moreover, they do take admission in more than one course at one time as they do not know which will click for her. So, a girl wants to combine her knowledge in different areas- the knowledge she gathered from the computer graphics and designing- she wants to replicate that in her embroidery/ boutique designing and more often- she starts developing cards, colour combination to interior decoration, making friends from all over the world through using internet etc. A girl now gets jobs in the travel agency, small industry development, hospitals, private clinics, shopping malls, ad-farms etc.

H) The Trainees- Their Feelings: “ I saw my mother doing all the household duties, she raised us, taught us as much as she could, gave her best and the last drop of stamina for the welfare of family… but still she has no voice- she has no right to take any decision. I am not going to be my mother’s duplicate”… Suraiya gushed out all those words in a breath. And more or less- the girls of today wants to be self- reliant/ employed and their self- esteem is very high after they are educated.

I) Interviews: Here too, the same questionnaire was followed. Interviewees seemed confident to give their answer without any hesitation and they also wanted to know about the interviewer.

1. Ms. Rebecca (37): Rebecca is a professional singer, teacher in a song academy, housewife, mother of a 7 years old son and has no maid to offer her a helping hand in daily urban household job. After so much work (!) she thinks she has spare time and she wants to utilize her full energy. She says “ I think I have selected a right training as it is offering me a vast area- I am getting accustomed to many things I longed to know.” She gave the example of database processing . She had to leave her job of Accounting in a private company due to sickness and her inability to know the programming. Rebecca is very keen to know about new things and she got the proper item this time – she is overwhelmed. “It is the browsing which is a splendid thing and I can get to know so many things! I even play games with my child. The happiness you are seeing is mainly because I am satisfied and am planning to go for a private job. My husband tries to help me and I am really very happy getting a friend circle over here.” She came to know about the course through newspaper and has the full support of her family.

2. Ms. Suraiya (26): Suraiya has just completed her Masters exam from Social Science and while waiting for the result- she is trying to make herself updated. She has already started searching for a job. Suraiya’s friend informed her about the course.

3. Ms Lina (24): Lina is passing the best part of her life. She will migrate to Canada within two months to settle with her husband. Lina thinks, though her husband earns and perhaps that is quite adequate to live a good life, but she has a dream of her own- the dream of self- employed. She thinks to get a job in a good shopping mall over Canada and she is getting the training for that. She cannot leave her education simply go in vein just being a house wife. Higher studies must be undertaken. Her sister was an ex-student in the centre and thus Lina came here taking family permission.

4. Ms. Farhana (20): Farhana is an attractive lady who has entered the age of electronics. She has just completed her Honors final exam and now is waiting for the result. She did some part time jobs in the meantime (like being a Sales Manager in the International Trade Fair) and found out computer is extremely necessary for her future career and study as well. She wishes to carry out part time job in shopping malls with her study. One of her friends gave her information about the course and her family had no objection against this course.

J) Concluding Remarks:

The objectives set up for the centre is pro-poor but we found from the interviews that the girls taking training in computer are educated (at least are taking the higher study) and are mostly coming from the middle and upper middle class families. The trainer analyzed the difference between the objectives and the reality. A minimal level of education is required for computer training and this naturally excludes a class of women who do not enjoy access to such education. The centre focuses on making this group (poor uneducated women) self-employed through providing them training on dress making and embroidery, packaging and binding, poultry, food processing and preservation, imitation jewelry, shoe/ sandal making, boutique/ block designing, making sanitation slab, candle etc. The hard-core poor go for these courses and make a living for the family. Though the govt. has made the education free for the girls up to Secondary School Certificate (SSC); but social stigma, family orientation restrain them from using their potential and sometimes even in the modern age they live a segregated and secluded life.

The above interviews therefore represent thoughts of modern girls who are very much motivated with satellite channels, are confident, motivated and have a positive outlook on life. They now want to come out of their shell that their previous generations used to occupy. The girls of today want to compete professionally with their male counterpart and wants to retain their dignity and self-esteem in society and home. They are therefore, prioritizing self- employment, which would make them able to take family decision and they prioritize computer knowledge in this respect as it provides them with the knowledge of the contemporary world. The loneliness - specially for the housewives have reduced a lot with the knowledge of computers as well as they are getting aware of the current world while browsing. Women of today are more aware of themselves, health conscious, intelligent and in pace with their male counterparts.

5. Challenges Faced by Women to Get Empowered: Bangladeshi women face the following common problems at workplace. About attitude and perceptions, these include-

• Social and cultural norms and values: Ideologies of male-domination and misinterpretations of religion have led to the seclusion of women. Though there are now enough opportunities for them to get educated as well as employed, the inherited family stigma being blended with the social one made women more vulnerable to social stigmas and unable to use their inner potentials. This is mainly seen in the rural areas.

Insecurity and lack of mobility in the workplace: If a woman is bold enough to disregard all her family tradition and becomes educated and luck smiles on her- even then she has to struggle as still the govt. could not ensure her security in public places like the way to her office. Eve-teasing along with abuse is a very common scenario in Bangladesh. Besides even in the workplace her male counterparts look at her as competitor and continually suggest that her place is in the home.

• • Discrimination in judging their work: In the workplace, even if a woman works better and more than her male colleagues, her Boss would tend to be critical rather than appreciate. This is true for all classes of women. A woman day laborers earns half than her male counterpart doing the same job.

• • A further, deeply ingrained problem is a lack of self-confidence that is often a feature of the middle-class women (and the young new-comers too) aspiring to hold a technical or high position

Structural Constrains:

• • Lack of mainstreaming training methods for women in the country: As mentioned earlier in the paper- women hardly get a chance to get themselves in the mainstream while fighting with the unfriendly and negative environment of the office. She has to fight each moment to make her job stable and settled.
  
  • Lack of support from ministerial departments: The govt. Departments are not conscious about women’s awareness or to tap into their potential. It is the donor’s policies that created the need to empower women. But the century old habit is not going to change in such a short time.

• • Lack of fund support for training: Mainly the foreign fund is used for domestic economy- agriculture, different industrial sectors and defense. Women often lack training in these spheres and hence lag behind their male counterparts.

Inadequate Infrastructure Facilities:

• Literacy and education: Though the govt. demands the literacy rate of Bangladesh is 66%, but this means that of this huge percentage, many can only sign their names without being able to read and write. For the women sector in Bangladesh- the situation is more painful as they are supposed to stay at home (an unwritten socio- religious stigma to kill all the dreams a girl possess). Though the govt. has begun compulsory free education for all girls up to SSC to Degree level, but very few girls can go for that. Early marriage, early motherhood is a very common phenomena and the drop-out rate from the school too. Even if a girl wishes to continue her study, local hooligans often restrain her. The law and order situation has deteriorated so much that sometimes the only way of protest that is left open to girls is to commit suicide.
 

• No specific data to determine gender gaps in particular areas: In many offices, there is no data base to get an idea regarding the percentage of women employees. Therefore, it becomes tough for a researcher to get a full picture after entering a company or NGO. Women – even while working, hardly gets acknowledged in the office database.

• Insufficient health facilities: Lack of facilities to cater to women’s particular physical needs are absent in most workplaces. Most rural and some urban offices cannot provide them with hygienic toilet facilities or respect their need for privacy.

So many constrains may appear daunting. A step-by-step approach is advocated where initially it is felt important to bring about an official awareness of gender gaps among decision makers in the ICT sector from an early age and to promote nationwide research with participation of rural women along with protection of their rights and access to indigenous product information.

6. Emerging Needs and Opportunities for Women in ICT Sector: To be self-sufficient in production, export of indigenous products research using the latest technologies such as Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Renewable Energy, Indigenous knowledge, Information Technology – all need to get done for their contribution to ICT, health, environment and education. On the other hand, these sectors must now be fed with updated information enabling rural and urban women to act at the micro/macro decision-making levels. As well as in their long established traditional practices, cause and effect, why things happen and what are the reasons for the way things work along with the consequences of certain practices.

Uses of Information Technology (IT) to assist women in their current economic activities, including farming, trade and entrepreneurships are enormous. For instance, women farmers can greatly increase productivity using IT on improved technologies, agricultural inputs, weather and markets. Traders and other entrepreneurs need not only to find marketing information about their own business. Women’s handicrafts can find niche markets, but marketing and management skills are needed, and at the same time supply and delivery problems must be addressed. Some successful developing countries’ e-business have taken advantage of local delivery. More profitable opportunities exist for women’s small-scale enterprise in business-to- business and business-to- govt. market.

IT enabled communications businesses offer promise for women entrepreneurs following the model of Grameen Phone in Bangladesh, examples of teleboutiques in Senegal and Morocco, phone shops in Ghana could easily be followed. Given high demand, low capital and skills requirements, these businesses are within the reach of many women in developing countries where Bangladesh can easily add her name. Bangladesh also can follow the example of SEWA of India which aims at changing the grassroots levels’ women’s lives through using their ability and translating their values into working systems- the women managed to recognize , build on the vibrancy and strength of self- employment in a rapidly changing society. Bangladesh can take all these examples to empower the potential women here.

Moreover, women of Bangladesh have extensive knowledge of plants, animals, managing natural resources and health care. It is often women (mainly the indigenous ones) who cultivate crops and utilize the traditional medicinal knowledge. As women are largely responsible for agricultural activities, household food supply, health care and other reproductive activities along with being engaged in numerous productive activities – privatization of their knowledge can be done through IT^.4

7. Recommendations:

• Introduction of Practical Based Computer Curriculum for College: An effective way to disseminate knowledge and overcome fear of technology is to introduce it at school and college level. The current Secondary Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificates’ (HSC) computer Science syllabus does not cater for the essential practical skills and necessary acts. Learning computer is almost like learning sewing – it needs a lot of practicing. Without imparting practical computing skills, learning theory is of limited use. As 1st step, a well-designed practical curriculum can help to make a concrete base for the planners.

• Introduce a Separate Set of Prizes for Women Competitors: In computer competitions, as incentives- separate prizes should be kept aside for the women competitors. Competitions held by the Bangladesh Computer Council and Public and private universities should have separate merit list for the women competitors.

• Soft Loans for Computer Related Business: This should get done to help women in income generating activities.

• Special Quota of Competitive Scholarships of Women Studying Science and ICT Subjects both Locally and Abroad: Women must be educated – at least get her graduation degree to know the know-how of a computer. As for the scholar women- it would be very worthy to make up their lives.

• Cultural Shows Showing Success Stories of Women Participating in ICT Sectors: A series of plays showing the benefit of women in education and science should be commissioned and shown on national TV.⁵

8. Conclusion:

Putting gender issue first in the age of globalization means drawing attention to the many positive aspects of our new global world that enables us to communicate and network across national, social boundaries. However, as we interact globally (and locally too), we must ensure that the effect of globalization in any form of information, communication, technological, political, economic or cultural; is always borne in the individual human being’s mind. There is a pursuit of economic opportunism throughout the world. Today, opportunity, scope, markets are global bringing with them the need for labor, ideas, and materials. As the economic situation is changing rapidly, the New Economy is providing people to shop, work and play globally at Internet speed, opening up many economic opportunities throughout the world. For women, economic globalization has created new opportunities in the field of employment and entrepreneurship. As educated women are getting accustomed to this new wave, they have no option but to accumulate knowledge and skills to accommodate themselves to enjoy the positive sides of the new age. As the fruit of globalization spreads each day, it is imperative that women educate and train themselves. Moreover, the government should make policy and quota for these trained women so that they can use the training and technological developments to their own advantage. Decision-making authorities who are claiming to be gender sensitive should be made to realize that an ICT educated woman can only offer her very best to Bangladesh. A culture of good practices in empowering women in IT will help to give more meaning to the slogan adopted in our Sixth Five Year Plan (2003-2008) “Equal Education for Men and Women-Build a Better Bangladesh.”

 

Please note, Empowering Women Through ICT: Challenges & Opportunities by  Sayema Nazneen was presented at the International Seminar on Women Empowerment Through ICT, in Paud, Pune, India (from 30 May- 2 June 2003). 150 participants from seven countries were there, and some 20 presented their papers.