Bridging the ICT gender gap in Zimbabwe

This is a continuation from last week

Digital skills development initiative

THE gender digital divide is not simply a question of access to digital technologies, but about the capacity to make meaningful use of the available technologies.

A salient barrier is both low literacy and lack of digital skills. Women and girls are less aware of mobile internet compared with men, which significantly limits their uptake.

Through the Universal Service Fund, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe ( POTRAZ) launched a skills development initiative which has seen over 11 000 citizens in rural areas trained on digital literacy and these include women and girls ( POTRAZ, 2019).

In addition, Government efforts in promoting education of more girls in the science and technology fields through scholarships and training programmes under the Science Technology Engineering and Maths ( STEM) programme forms part of the national initiatives to develop digital skills.

Collection of statistical data

Globally and nationally, statistical data on digital inclusion is scarce and usually not disaggregated by gender according to the Global System for Mobile Communications ( GSMA)

Collection of statistics is critical as it can fill the many data gaps that currently impede effective, evidence-based policymaking to bridge the digital gender gap.

From the first quarter of 2019, POTRAZ indicated that it has made a deliberate effort to make sure that gender disaggregated statistics are made available through quarterly sector performance reports.

This is particularly important for developing appropriate interventions and evaluating their effectiveness to reduce the gender digital divide.

More grounded research is required to better understand the dynamics and the underlying causes of the gender digital divide in Zimbabwe in order to develop appropriate and targeted interventions.

Leadership/role modelling

It has been established globally that socio-cultural norms fuel gender stereotypes concerning the use of technologies, and these stereotypes are often reinforced in girls’ closest environment, that is, their families ( GSMA, 2015). Parents can directly or indirectly discourage girls from using technology during early socialisation. In this way, they may shape girls’ preferences regarding their future career choices in science and technology.

Without sufficient female role models outside the family, it becomes even more difficult to overcome gender stereotypes.

POTRAZ has on an annual basis utilised the International Girls in ICT Day to empower women and girls to get an insight into the sector and careers on offer.

On this day girls get to meet women working in the sector who become role models and a source of inspiration.

As a result of these initiatives, notable strides have been made to close the digital gender divide, although a lot more still needs to be done. According to the 2017

and Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) national survey on ICT Access and use by Education Institutions, the digital gender divide, in terms of access to the internet by students in institutions of education from Early Childhood Development A — industrial colleges stood at 50,3 percent males against 49,7 percent females.

Globally, it is estimated that the gender divide in internet usage in Africa is over 25 percent ( GSMA, 2019).

In terms of access to a computer, the findings indicated that from ECD A to polytechnic colleges, 59,9 percent of male students had access to a computer against 40,1 percent of female students.

In terms of mobile subscriber database, the largest mobile network operator, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, recorded a total customer subscriber base of 8,5 million in March 2019 and 5,2 million of these customers were male against 3,3 million females.

Similar figures were recorded by Telecel Zimbabwe indicating that 60 percent of the national mobile subscriber database is male against 40 percent females ( POTRAZ, 2019).

Women are still under represented in the

ICT labour market.

While there are few notable glass-crashers, the digital ceiling is still a reality with most women occupying jobs at the bottom of the corporate ladder of the ICT sector.

As at December 2018, the telecommunications sector employed an estimated 34 percent of women against 66 percent men ( POTRAZ, 2018).

Globally, it is estimated that only 24 percent of ICT graduates are women, despite the fact that women, more than men completed tertiary education, in 2015 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2018).

More work is required around ensuring women and girls safety online which is key to building their confidence in the use of

ICTs. This challenge can be minimised by the development of a robust legislative framework, coupled with a national campaign to raise awareness on the need for a safe cyber space in order to protect not only women and girls but everyone from cyber-abuse.

According to Plan International’s report on the State of the World’s Girls, 2020, more than half of girls (58 percent), said they experience online violence on social media, which impacts on their continued participation on the digital space and consequently cuts them off from the benefits of using ICTs. In spite of the above stated initiatives, gender inequality in terms of access, ownership of digital devices, use as well as digital fluency in Zimbabwe still persists.

Though not so detailed, the available statistics are a reminder to both the Government, academia, private sector and civil society that women and girls continue to fall behind in opportunities to effectively access, own and use ICTs to improve their livelihoods, in particular and the economy in general. If not addressed, the digital gender divide can lead to gender inequalities in many other areas, thereby stalling the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) by 2030.

As a nation in general and in particular stakeholders in the ICT ecosystem, it is important to continue the conversation on bridging the ICT gender divide and come up with concrete interventions through a multi-stakeholder approach. There is need for all stakeholders to revisit existing policies, strategies, programmes and build partnerships and platforms for co-operation for gender responsiveness in the ICT sector to be realised.

Lastly, a continuous evaluation of these interventions is also key to ensure that no one is left behind.

◆ Tsitsi Mariwo-Mbanje is a lawyer with 20 years’ experience, nine of which have a footprint in ICT Policy and Regulation. She writes in her own capacity and can be contacted on Mobile: 0774 107 004 or Email: tsitsimariwo@yahoo.com