How does focusing on connectivity exclude girls and women?
ICT projects which concentrate exclusively on access to technology and information sources do not guarantee effective use of ICTs for both women or men. Because of the barriers for women to effective use and access to ICT (see FAQ on “Why gender and ICT?”), projects which fail to take into account women’s situation, and which pay less attention to training and skills development have been criticized for looking at superficial means of empowering women (and men) in the long run. While access and connectivity are important issues, know-how and content are equally as important. In addition, technical skills or know-how account for a bigger gap between men and women than connectivity does. Even if connectivity and access are provided, a woman without the skills and know-how will not be able to make use of the access she has been granted. If there isn’t any content available that has relevance to women and men, and if it is not available in local languages, they will not be interested in us
