Gender‐specific barriers include traditional views on the roles of women. In most African societies women are entirely responsible for the reproductive and community roles, while also taking on many productive roles. This multiplicity of roles impacts heavily on their ability to spend time and attention on their businesses. The amount of responsibilities assigned is not matched with resources ‐ and there is a clear gender bias in access to resources including ICTs (Heeks 1999). Without equal access to ICTs, women entrepreneurs risk becoming marginalized in the new technology‐driven economy. Women’s ability to exercise their responsibilities, use their capacities, and realize their projects depends on efforts to reduce poverty and exclusion. In a world economy undergoing major transformation after experiencing a technological revolution, being able to take advantage of these opportunities is critical for their businesses to remain competitive. 1.4. Women and ICTs: Obstacles to Access Despite the opportunities provided by ICTs, there are many gender gaps in access and application of ICTs that negatively affect women’s participation in and benefit from ICTs for development. Key obstacles include low literacy rates and education, limited economic capacity to afford the services, time constraints and limited mobility due to multiple roles. Women need basic literacy and numeracy in order to read and compose simple messages, navigate the Internet and execute commands in most software applications. However, most are illiterate and lack the basic literacy and computer skills that would enable them take advantage of the new opportunities. The dominance of international languages on the Internet as well as computer hardware and software excludes access to most of the population, especially women with little or no formal schooling. According to the APC Women’s Networking Survey (1996), language was one of the top barriers to Internet use for women from Eastern Europe, Latin America and Francophone Africa.
Women of Uganda Network: Research Report
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