Technology is gender neutral isn’t it?
ICTs have long been believed to be gender neutral but, contradictorily, the ICT sector is primarily a male domain. This, in and of itself, is an issue as it dismisses the invisibility of women in the ICT field as a given. ICT for development frameworks and initiatives that do not incorporate gender as a key factor and concern run the risk of widening inequalities between women and men. For example, in attempts to provide universal access to ICTs among rural communities, several development agencies fail to consider women’s particular needs and realities in planning and implementation. Thus, these initiatives tend to be largely tailored towards the needs of men within these communities, a situation that further marginalizes women. Gendered patterns of health, employment, and access to resources and education mean that technology transfer is not a neutral process. Over the last 30 years of technology transfer the level of poverty for women has increased relative to men, and men have bene
