Feminist pedagogy and social media: a study on their integration and effectiveness in training budding women entrepreneurs

2021

BMC Women's Health

Background Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have empowered people to communicate and network at a global scale. However, there is lack of in-depth understanding of the use of ICTs for women's empowerment. This study examines how the concept empowerment is defined, utilized and measured in research studies, the existing evidence on the use of ICTs for women’s empowerment and the gaps in knowledge at the global level. Methods The authors’ conducted a scoping review using the Arksey and O’Malley methodology. The search identified papers from ten databases, including Scopus, Embase, ABI Inform, Soc Index, Sociological Abstracts, Gender Studies, Springer Link, PsychInfo, Science Direct, and Academic Search Complete over the period of 2012–2018. Search criteria included articles that focused on women’s empowerment and utilized technologies as interventions. Out of a total of 4481 articles that were initially identified, 51 were included. Results Technology played a variety of roles in supporting the development of women’s capacities and resources. Results revealed the use of ICT interventions in the overarching areas of outreach (e.g., health promotion), education (e.g., health literacy opportunities), lifestyle (e.g., peer coaching and planning), prevention (e.g., screening opportunities), health challenges (e.g., intimate partner violence apps), and perceptions of barriers (i.e., uptake, utilization and ubiquity to ICTs for women). Despite the positive use of technology to support women in their daily lives, there was a lack of consensus regarding the definition and use of the term empowerment. The concept of empowerment was also inconsistently and poorly measured in individual studies making it difficult to determine if it was achieved. Conclusion This scoping review provides a comprehensive review of current and emerging efforts to use ICTs to empower women. The findings suggest a need for collaborative efforts between researchers, program implementers and policy makers as well as the various communities of women to address the persistent gender disparities with respect to ICTs.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology as the key to women’s empowerment: a scoping review

2021

BMC Women's Health

“…These studies defined empowerment as a process but with different foci: as individuals having choice or control over their decisions [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] , as being multi-dimensional and influencing a variety of areas. 32,35,[37][38] or with a focus on building individuals' capacities, including internal and external resources. [37][38][39][40] The remaining studies described empowerment in a more indirect way, never including the term "empower" or "disempower."…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology as the Key to Women’s Empowerment: A Scoping Review

2019

Preprint

Background: The achievement of gender equity and equality has been a long-time goal of many international entities . The main indicator for the goal of women’s empowerment, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has been to enable the use of technology by increasing the current access for women and girls across the globe. While information and communication technologies (ICTs) were initially thought to be neutral in terms of access and opportunity, emerging trends now indicate that the use of technology within society has significant social implications, specifically related to gender as a determinant of health. Methods : Using the Arksey and O’Malley methodology for scoping reviews, the following question was answered: What is the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the level of women’s empowerment worldwide? The primary objective of this scoping review was to identify the extent, range, and scope of evidence involving the impact and influence of ICTs on women’s empowerment. A total of 51 articles were analyzed using the scoping review framework. Results: The major themes that emerged from this review included: (a) the means in which ICTs have assisted in building the capacity and tools of women, (b) the manner in which ICTs have been used as an intervention in supporting empowerment; and (c) the approach in which ICTs can act as potential barriers and facilitators to women’s attainment of agency. Conclusions: The evidence from this scoping review supports the innovative use of current and emerging technologies within health care to connect with, engage, and empower women both within the acute and community settings. The extant evidence explores how ICT has played a role in the promotion and support of women ’s empowerment as well as supporting the development of health care policies and relevant programs.

“…These studies de ned empowerment as a process but with different foci: as individuals having choice or control over their decisions [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] , as being multi-dimensional and in uencing a variety of areas. 34,37,[39][40] or with a focus on building individuals' capacities, including internal and external resources. [39][40][41][42] The remaining studies described empowerment in a more indirect way, never including the term "empower" or "disempower."…”

Section: Empowerment De Nitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the literature, a number of articles (6/51) described supportive ICT interventions that delivered various health information, through smartphones or other web-based devices. These included Facebook TM virtual learning systems, 34 psychoeducation for breast cancer patients, 35 as well as interactive voice response as a tool for improving access to healthcare in remote areas. 59 Other interventions included English language programs, 70 antenatal perineal massage support groups, 76 as well as supports for enhancing doctor patient relationships.…”

Section: Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology as the Key to Women’s Empowerment: A Scoping Review

2020

Preprint

Background: With women’s empowerment and information and communication technologies (ICTs) being the subject of global goals and discussions for many decades, there is a need for a clearer and deeper understanding about how the current gaps can be bridged. Despite ICTs having made communication and networking a possibility between and among people on a global scale, a digital divide has emerged. Research Question: To determine the global impact of information and communication technology on women’s empowerment. Methods: The authors report on a qualitative scoping review using the Arksey and O’Malley methodology. The search identified papers from ten databases, including Scopus, Embase, ABI Inform, Soc Index, Sociological Abstracts, Gender Studies, Springer Link, PsychInfo, Science Direct, and Academic Search Complete over the period of 2012-2018. Search criteria included articles that focused on women’s empowerment and utilized technologies as interventions. A total of 4481 articles were initially identified and a final total of 51 were charted and analyzed. Results: Technology played a variety of roles in supporting the development of women’s capacity and resources. Results demonstrated the use of ICT interventions in the following areas: outreach, education, lifestyle, prevention, health challenges, perceptions of barriers. However, despite this clear positive use of technology to support women in their daily lives, there was a lack of consensus regarding the definition and use of the term empowerment. The concept of empowerment was also inconsistently and poorly measured among individual studies which led to issues in measuring whether or not empowerment was achieved. Conclusions: This scoping review supports the use of current and emerging technologies to engage and empower women across a variety of contexts.