A Study on the Gender Digital Divide: Overcoming the Under-Representation of South African Women in the IT Sector

Nesaratnam, Seetha; Mamba, Tengudzeni Nkosingiphile; Singh, Jugindar Singh Kartar

doi:10.5296/bms.v9i2.13376

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…The Beijing +25 Rwanda Country Report (Republic of Rwanda, 2019) notes that the "ICT literacy rate among women is still low at 7% compared to 11% of men in the same age category". The concept of the gender digital divide highlights the differences between men and women and boys' and girls' access to and use of ICT (Cooper, 2006, Nesaratnam et al, 2018. Previous studies on the use of ICT in schools and out-of-school in Rwanda (Rubagiza et al, 2011, Rubagiza, 2012) also noted a gender digital divide as well as one between rural and urban settings.…”

Section: Ii) Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender-Related Factors Influencing Female Students’ Participation in Higher Education in Rwanda

Rubagiza¹,

Umutoni²,

Iyakaremye³

2022

IJAHE

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Rwanda is widely seen as one of the most progressive countries in the world with regard to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. In education, for example, girls’ access to primary and secondary education is among the highest in Africa. However, female students’ participation remains limited in public universities and they constitute only around a third of the student population at the University of Rwanda. This article explores the factors that influence female students’ participation in public higher education in the country. It draws from a study commissioned by the University of Rwanda on the causes of low female enrolment at the institution that was conducted between 2016 and 2017. The study employed a mixed methods approach, and data was gathered by means of questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. The results revealed interlinked structural (such as university policies) and socio-cultural factors that contribute to the exclusion of female students from Rwanda’s top university. Given the complexities involved, this calls for a multi-pronged approach to address the issue of female representation at the University. Key words: Gender disparities, female students, higher education, Rwanda

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Section: Ii) Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender-Related Factors Influencing Female Students’ Participation in Higher Education in Rwanda

Rubagiza¹,

Umutoni²,

Iyakaremye³

2022

IJAHE

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“…A number of barriers may hinder female students from accessing higher education and these differ in different contexts. According to Nesaratnam et al (2022), the reasons for exclusion from higher education are difficult to unpack as they are underscored by the complex dynamics of class, gender and race. Experiences are complex and relational and are located at the intersection of structure, culture and agency (Mirza, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Socio-Cultural Factors on Women’s Participation in Leadership of Higher Education in Rwanda: A Case of Rwanda Polytechnics

Agirumubyara,

Ngabonziza

2024

AJERNET

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This study explored the effects of social cultural factors on women’s participation level in leadership positions. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Data was collected using questionnaires. A sample of a total of 72 respondents was used in this study. These included 72 female teachers of 5 IPRCs in Rwanda. The data obtained through questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS. The findings showed that socio-cultural factors were affecting women in IPRCs and resulting in their underrepresentation in leadership positions in Polytechnic Institutions in Rwanda (r=0.661). In addition, this meant that the relationship between socio-cultural factors of women and their participation in Polytechnic Institutions in Rwanda was strong. The R- squared of 0.550 implied that a unit change in socio-cultural factors predicts 0.767 changes in the participation of women in Polytechnic Institutions in Rwanda. The F-value of 36.241 and the corresponding p-value (p = 0.001) which is less than 0.05 implied that socio-cultural factors affects the representation of women teaching in Polytechnic Institutions in Rwanda. The study concluded that family responsibilities regulated by socio-cultural norms, women involvement, various cultural aspects and religion have an influence on their participation in leadership. The study strongly recommended that all appropriate stakeholders should make a concerted effort to ensure that the different institutions of society (families, schools, universities, communities and the government) respect Rwandan women’s rights. This request to meet their needs and requirements by means of laws, rules policies, economic empowerment, up-skilling, procedures, standards, daily practices and national forums on gender inequality. It also requires identifying and developing strategies for dealing with the existing gender issues and concerns in higher educational institutions in order to increase women’s participation in leadership positions.

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“…This technophobia translates into negative behavior towards machines that always seem difficult to operate, bad, slow or boring; or towards themselves, thinking that they are incapable of using them or that it is very difficult. In this line, Nkosingiphile et al [32] insist on the importance of training and describe that kind of coaching as a valuable element for women´s development in the Information Technology industry for various reasons, including expanding skillset and on-the-job training; specifically, they mentioned that this element acts in preventing stagnancy either in job position or job performance. It is also observed that there are few female role models in the tech world, with the exception of certain female mentors and networks.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Impact of the Gender Digital Divide on Sustainable Development: Comparative Analysis between the European Union and the Maghreb

et al. 2020

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Today, the relationship between gender and information and communications technologies (ICTs) is a very important element in achieving sustainable development, since ICTs play a key role in attaining gender equality and empowering women by allowing access to important information and involving them as actors in social, economic and environmental development. This participation is closely linked to the degree of education, training and employability, and so women bring added value to the technology sector and not only to it, but also to all sectors associated with it, through their contribution to R&D and Innovation. The 17 goals adopted in Agenda 21 constitute a roadmap that aims to involve all actors and impose gender equality in each one of these goals. In this study, we compare the innovation and gender index of four Mediterranean countries (France, Spain, Morocco, and Algeria) and analyze how some indexes related with “the gender digital divide” affect the achievement of these sustainable development goals. It has been observed that Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 are the most influenced by ICT and the gender digital divide, and that none of the countries in our study have achieved them, although France and Spain present a moderate trend towards their achievement by 2030, and to support this statement, a multiple linear regression has been performed at a global level for the countries that have all of the indicators’ data available. The empirical results show that the gender digital divide has a negative effect on this accomplishment and that the technology disposition has a positive effect on them.

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A Study on the Gender Digital Divide: Overcoming the Under-Representation of South African Women in the IT Sector

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Gender-Related Factors Influencing Female Students’ Participation in Higher Education in Rwanda

Gender-Related Factors Influencing Female Students’ Participation in Higher Education in Rwanda

Effect of Socio-Cultural Factors on Women’s Participation in Leadership of Higher Education in Rwanda: A Case of Rwanda Polytechnics

The Impact of the Gender Digital Divide on Sustainable Development: Comparative Analysis between the European Union and the Maghreb

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