INITIATIVES AIMED AT INCREASING THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE TECH INDUSTRY IN RWANDA AND THEIR IMPACT ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 30 YEARS AFTER GENOCIDE AGAINST TUTSI IN RWANDA (original) (raw)
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Impact of ICT on Employment in Rwanda
Rwanda is a stable macroeconomic performer in Africa with economic growth expanded on 7.60 in first quarter of 2015. The contribution of ICT for the achievement is paramount as stipulated in pillar of EDPRS2 to achieve 2020 vision. Rwanda continues to be one of the fastest growing African countries in ICT, from e-com¬merce and e-services, mobile technologies, ap¬plications development and automation to be¬coming a regional center for the training of top quality ICT professionals and researchers. This study intended to determine the impact of ICT on Employment in Rwanda with specific objectives of determining impact of ICT on youth employment and employment promotion in Rwanda. The study employed time series data spanning from 1985 to 2014, measuring the ICT facilities by mobile cellular subscriptions and the number of internet penetration. The empirical test showed effect that mobile subscriptions have on youth employment and on employment promotion in Rwanda. The empirical test also showed the impact of internet penetration on both youth employment and employment promotion in Rwanda. To increase the employability of young generation and rate of employment creation in Rwanda, basing on findings the study recommends that government should create attractive environment for foreign direct investment in ICTs infrastructures. More efforts are needed to promote the access of young people to ICTs facilities especially in rural areas and the government should coordinate more effort and enhance innovations and research in ICTs from High Learning Institutions (HLI) and IPRCs that can contribute to services and agriculture sectors.
Inclusion and promotion of women in technologies
In the information and knowledge society gender transformations have characterized the social changes of recent years, while information and communication technologies (ICT) have taken an essential role for social development. Nevertheless, even if women have accumulated an incredible talent in order to confront today's challenges, the technological system seems not to be prepared to include, retain and promote them through the technological careers that they deserve. Research about gender and technology related with female occupation has pointed out several causes for female exclusion that should be addressed from an interdisciplinary approach. Most of the research has been focused on finding out the barriers that make more difficult to access and promote women in technological occupations. However, there is still a need to identify and foster enablers of women's full inclusion in technologies. Carrying out a mix methodology in between quantitative and qualitative methods, we aim at providing different solutions to facilitate and promote women's presence and retainment in technological careers.
Rwanda's Progress Towards a Gender Equitable Society
Republic of Rwanda The 2007 Women Parliamentary International Conference Gender, Nation Building and the Role of Parliaments, 2007
The women Parliamentarians of Rwanda commissioned this review of Rwanda’s progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment for delegates to the 2007 Women Parliamentarians International Conference. The review has been published because it has proved to be an excellent assessment of what Rwanda has been able to achieve, with Government commitment and collaboration from all of our Parliamentary colleagues, both men and women, over the last ten years.
2011
Focus on Rwanda fills an important niche in Rwandan gender studies. Organised by the Centre for Gender, Cultural and Development in Rwanda with the collaboration of the Old Dominion University in Virginia USA it was the first conference in Rwanda dedicated to building bridges between gender researchers and activists, and the first opportunity for us to share together in a significant public international venture, and to proudly give visible evidence of the effectiveness of our pioneering studies in gender and our commitment to the nation. The report's contents give a much better sense of how government policy has evolved in regard to gender and the tremendous gender work being done by researchers and activists in Rwanda.
ICT4D, A Driver of Socio- Economic Development in Rwanda: Situation 2000-2015
2015
The government of Rwanda (GoR) committed itself to developing and implementing Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) policies and action plans within the context of the Vision for Rwanda to transform Rwanda’s predominantly agricultural economy by the year 2020 into: (i) A high-income economy dominated by trading in ICT products and services; (ii) An economy characterized by a large commercial services sector with a reasonably large and vibrant ICT services sub-sector and industry; (iii) An economy characterized by a technology-based and knowledge-driven industrial sector; (iv) An economy with a globally competitive industrial and services sector which is, to a large extent, driven by cutting-edge research and development (Rd (v) An economy based on a rich pool of highly skilled human resources in critical skill areas relevant for developing and maintaining a competitive edge on the global market”. Adopted in 2000, Vision 2020 aims to transform Rwanda into ...
Women and Information Technology
Economic growth and technological advancement in India in the current decade is very impressive. Technology, market and development are considered gender-neutral. But there is pronounced urban bias furthering to women development in formal sector in the development process of India. Modernization of the economy or advancement of the society is a semi-myth for women. Women as a class are oppressed and subdued by the hegemony of social patriarchy. Economic growth has failed to improve the situation either. This can be highlighted from the 2004, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) study set out to address these challenges. Since its inception, NCWIT has been compiling data from existing national sources and sponsoring research projects in an effort to understand why participation is declining and how companies can reclaim the technical talent of women and other underrepresented groups. 1 And a similar scenario is also witness in India. Gender concerns and discourses survive within the development bureaucracies dominated by men. Education and technology should ensure liberation and freedom of thought for all human beings. It should break gradually the shackles of tradition that binds women in the man-made goal. The gender issue should be delinked both from myopic economics and insensitive politics.
The study aimed at investigating the contribution of ICTs on socio-economic Development in MUKURA and NGOMA Sectors. The research questions included: What are the perceptions of ordinary citizens regarding ICTs and their use? How do ordinary citizens benefit from the use and development of ICT? And how does ICT use contribute to the increase in household income? While the objectives of the study were: To find out the perceptions of people on ICT use and its contribution on people's standard of living in their respective areas and to evaluate the level of ICT use in the two sectors of MUKURA and TUMBA. Theoretically, the study focused on the Social Development theory which entails a set of social changes resulting from the convergence of computers and communication technologies, their assimilation in the society and their use for communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing. Economic Development theory advocates for the increase in economic wealth and wellbeing of individuals. The theoretical framework also looked at ICT4D as the relationship between ICTs and Development.
International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 2017
The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of women in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia on using modern technology to enhance their productivity. To achieve this goal, survey design with quantitative method was employed. The primary source of the data was household women. They were selected by using stratified sampling. The data gathering tools were questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that 73.2% of the study participants have been using modern technology in their day-today life. Additionally, over half of the women indicated that using modern technology has saved their time, increased their income from agriculture, and helped them to live a better life. However, 80% of respondents in Gamo Gofa and 76% in Bench Maji believed that modern technology had no effect in reducing environmental impact. 47.6% of the respondents believed that modern technology reduced cost. In Sidama and Silte zones, 74.5 and 74.88% respectively, of the study participants recognized as modern technology have brought change in their life. 61.83% believed that leading a better life as a result of using modern technology. On the other hand, in Basketo and Semenomo, 68 and 70% of women respectively had negative attitudes towards modern technology in saving their time. In Bench Maji zone, 77% of the respondents believed that modern technology never increased their income. Finally, to improve the existing negative perception of women towards modern technology in some areas of the region, feasible recommendations are made by showing directions to different stakeholders on how to solve the identified shortcomings.
Gender Digital Divide in Rwanda: A qualitative analysis of socioeconomic factors (SSCI)
Telematics and Informatics, 2017
This study aims at exploring how information and communications technology (ICT) is accessed and used by women and men in Rwanda. Specifically, we analyze the factors that contribute to the gender digital divide in Rwanda. In addition, we assess the importance of equal access to ICTs between genders. Rwanda is a particulary intersting case study, since previous studies on gender differences in the usage and accessibility of ICTs have focused on Western countries, while Africa, and Rwanda in particular, have been less covered. The qualitative method of in-depth interviews was used to collect the data. Interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis technique. The findings of this study reveal that a gender digital divide still exists in Rwanda, even though the government puts forth much effort to eradicate this phenomenon. Reasons for barriers for women’s access to ICTs were found in social, economic and cultural factors, such as feelings of lack of self-worth, self-confidence, and proper educations; heavy domestic responsibilities; and computer anxiety. The findings also indicated that equal access to ICTs would be a shortcut to economic growth in Rwanda. This study concludes that Rwandan women need to be better educated in the use of computer technologies. Certain gender-sensitive strategies that guide the use of ICTs in this way also need to be established.
Gender, technology and development: reflections on the past and provocations for the future
Gender, technology and development, 2022
In our call for this 25th anniversary special issue we stated that “a reasonable, and epistemological, basis to begin with would be to question the central tenets of the journal, namely the separate and combined meanings of gender, technology and development.” This questioning is partly about understanding the emancipatory potential of development and technology, or of their interlinkages. However, as important as these connections are the editors never assumed a symbiotic and positive relationship, i.e., one in which development and technological changes would necessarily lead to greater gender equality and empowerment for women and sexual/gender minorities, or one in which techno-positivist were made about the relationship between technology and development.