Jamaican children learn to use computers as part of the Hope for Children Project, sponsored by CIDA.

Information and knowledge—often carried by ICTs—are increasingly becoming integral factors in the international, institutional, and political process. The lack of access to these sources creates a divide which impacts opportunities for developing countries' economic growth, wealth distribution, social empowerment, and development. It is the digital divide which largely prevents the equal sharing of knowledge worldwide and leads to "information and knowledge poverty" among certain groups. If only a select number of countries reap the benefits of ICTs while others continue to lag behind, the digital divide will continue to grow. Unless action is taken there is a danger of exacerbating this disparity between developed and developing countries.

It is for this reason that concerted efforts must continue to be undertaken, likely through Official Development Assistance funds, which focus on pro-poor strategies emphasizing provision of rural infrastructure, access of women and the disenfranchised, capacity building and training, as well as the creation and dissemination of local content in local languages. Gender relations, roles, and patterns of resource access should be considered when targeting disenfranchised groups and devising capacity building and training programs, along with other factors of age, sex, class, caste, race, and ethnicity.

1.4 ICTs and gender equality

A significant gender gap exists between women’s and men’s active and equal participation in the knowledge society. This gap is present in every aspect of ICTs, including access to and use of ICTs, and also in the field of education and employment within the ICT sector.

Experience has shown that women and men have different priorities and preferences in relation to technology. Women and men benefit differently from infrastructure services based on their socially ascribed roles, responsibilities, privileges, ownership of assets, and financial resources. Women are often restricted from using technology due to socio-cultural and religious attitudes and practices, manifested in limits, set by society, on the extent to which women and girls can interact with technology. Furthermore, women’s ability to travel outside the house or neighbourhood is restricted and their priority is seen to be child bearing and rearing. Factors such as literacy and education also affect women's access to ICTs. The content available often does not meet their information needs as women’s knowledge is not generally recognized and included in the information carried by ICTs.

CIDA's policy on gender equality emphasizes the importance of continuing CIDA's work in infrastructure services—including ICTs—as it contributes to achieving the goal of gender equality. The policy also highlights the need for specific strategies, within programming, to address this inequality of access. Gender analyses for new ICT projects and policies must be implemented to ensure women's ability to take advantage of ICT opportunities. Programming should recognize these differences, and develop programs and projects that provide appropriate and accessible ICT services that meet the ICT needs of both women and men.

Such analyses should take into consideration that:

• both women and men have been consulted to ascertain ICT opportunities and constraints in their communities;

• both women and men are involved in planning and decision making on ICT policies and projects to ensure relevance to their communities i.e., programs are responsive to their needs;

• the capacity of institutions to design and implement ICT investments that respond to the needs and priorities of poor women and men, are being developed; and

• the role of women, in the sector in which ICT projects are implemented, is recognized and supported, e.g., their role as health care providers in their communities.

• global initiatives targeting policy level impact and coordination of activities (e.g., the UN ICT Task Force, the G8 DOT Force and the UN World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS));

• public-private partnerships leveraging private sector investors (e.g., the Digital Opportunities Initiative, consisting of the Markle Foundation, Accenture, and UNDP);

• gateways which endeavor to aggregate information and resources using the Internet (e.g., the Development Gateway Foundation; Women’s Human Rights Net (WHRnet) and the Gender, Science and Technology Gateway);

• grant facilities for small, innovative projects with the potential of being scaled up (e.g., the World Bank's infoDev); and

• networks that bring multiple stakeholders together to share knowledge on promoting ICTs for development (e.g., the Global Knowledge Partnership and the Global Community Network Partnership).

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• The most effective role for government is to establish well-regulated and competitive environments conducive to private investment and innovation. This is essential for improving the quality and breadth of ICT services available in developing/transition countries. The trend towards liberalization in the last decade has resulted in lower costs and better ICT services. Many developing country governments, however, are reluctant to forgo revenues (in particular foreign currencies) generated by telecom monopolies. Solutions need to be sought which make such transitions easier and manageable.

• The most effective roles for the private sector are to support investments to build ICT infrastructure (which tends to be very capital intensive), operate ICT networks, and deliver ICT services. Therefore a fair and transparent regulatory and policy framework is necessary to secure and promote private sector involvement.

• For ICTs to have positive development impact, the various social groups must have equal access to them, particularly disadvantaged groups such as the poor, children, and indigenous peoples. Gender relations, roles, and patterns of resource access should be considered of each of these groups. If country policies and development strategies don't account for these issues, ICTs can exacerbate inequalities, leaving disadvantaged groups lagging further behind. For instance, ICTs may benefit skilled workers, more than unskilled workers, because they do not require additional training. ICTs also tend to benefit urban areas, more than rural areas, since larger cities often have the required infrastructure.

• Sustainable ICT projects must be locally owned and accompanied by human capacity development, to ensure the ability of individuals and communities to use, maintain, and benefit fully from ICTs.

1. ICTs as a sector in itself;
2. using ICTs as tools across sectors; and
3. using ICTs to promote knowledge sharing and networking.

• support for modernizing IT and telecommunications sectors through policy development, spectrum management, promoting competition, and instituting legal and regulatory frameworks;

• support for installing a tele-communications, television or radio network; and

• training and capacity development in ICTs.

• to enhance delivery of education (tertiary education, teacher training, etc.), often through distance education

• to improve and modernize public sector administration systems (taxation, finance, health)

• to manage water systems, environment, and agricultural production through Geographic Information Systems

• for sharing information (e.g., agricultural practices)

• to promote health care

• interventions must be demand-driven, with developing/transition countries determining if and how ICTs are a priority for their social and economic development. This might mean greater consideration of ICTs in the Country Development Programming Frameworks (CDPF) process, as well as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs);

• ensure governments, civil society, and the private sector in developing/transition countries play the lead role in deciding and implementing;

• use the UN Millennium Development Goals to ensure KD-ICT programming targets the poor, takes into account the differing concerns and resources of various sectors within a target group, and supports achievement of the goals agreed upon by the international community;

• use the range of technologies available as appropriate—from low technology (radio) to high technology (Internet, e-commerce), including the use of alternative power and delivery technologies, such as solar power and wireless/satellite technologies. Often a low-technology solution might be the most appropriate application, either on its own or in a mixed technology network; and

• build partnerships with like-minded donors, other government departments, multilateral organizations, etc. By collaborating, donors can leverage comparative advantages, maximize impact (e.g., through new programming initiatives such as Sector-Wide Approaches (SWAps)) and reduce duplication of efforts.

• engage in global and international policy dialogue—this provides CIDA with the opportunity to share knowledge and best practices, and to influence policy work in the ICT sector;

• support policy research to further our understanding of the links between ICTs and poverty reduction, including gender differences in accessing resources, and the key success factors for good program interventions; and

• promote and facilitate greater donor coordination.

1. using ICTs as tools for the development of the education and health sectors (in particular HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases);
2. building enabling environments through supporting policy and regulatory framework advice and development;
3. developing local capacity through promoting pro-competitive and flexible policy and regulatory environments in the ICT sector; and
4. supporting knowledge sharing and networking—facilitated by ICTs—within developing/transition countries, as a way of accessing and sharing information to empower individuals and encourage knowledge-based societies.

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• help CIDA staff to make informed choices regarding ICT options and their potential results;

• provide practical information about key success factors, best practices and examples of how to integrate results-based management (which includes development of results statements) into particular areas of ICT programming;

• develop an evaluation mechanism for measuring results of programming in ICTs; and

• address the issue of forging more active partnerships with other government partners, international organizations, and Canadian partners in ICT programming and delivery.

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