Post 3 Example: Technology and Empowerment Against Violence.

Technologies, Gender and Social Progress.

By Professor Jordán Masías O. 

ICEI 

Universidad de Chile.

Santiago, July 2018.

Infographic.
How does access to technology impact gender
equality and lead to women's human rights?

Technology in our country, luckily, has reached a wide percentage of the Chilean territory and communities making the idea of the access to technologies a matter of such naturality that even at the time of writing this post, Ï heard among my students the surprise of having to think on how technology Is a trigger for social equality, democratization and empowerment of minorities which is all understandable in the face of the national scenario, in fact, according to figures published in several media, while there might be around 65 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean without access to drinking water (just for instance), several studies estimate that Chile has been able to increase the amount of piped water to 99% of its population within the past decades^1(a-b-c);  despite having followed the tendency of overlooking the rural areas, in general, the access to technologies of such sort is not something quite contested.  

Adding to the previous, in Chile the access to electricity in the common household was declared of being of a 100% by the 2014². Therefore, since we have all grown up without considerable difficulties to receiving services of the kind, it is not hard to understand that people find hard to think about how technology access produces gender equality and furthermore, on how technology triggers empowerment of communities.

It has been stated and revised along the literature of the field that globally the access to technologies that stimulate the easy access to water have not necessarily proven to be a vehicle and promoter of gender equality as important as the access to electricity has shown to be; because around the world it has been observed that women’s employment rates have increased in electrified areas (p. 22-23)³ and furthermore, being electricity the motor of ICT, with electrification comes along a wider access to portable internet and smart technology which, for “economic, political, educational and social matters” is very important for women development (p. 28)³ , and by 2001 “access to ICT [was] the third most important issue for women after poverty and violence” (ibid)

In Chile, as well as with Water and Electricity Supplies, access to technology have a wide coverage, and as a matter of fact in several surveys and studies conducted by different respected institutions, the access rates published are surprising; One example is the “8^th Survey about Access, Uses and Users of Internet in Chile” that publishes (p.43)⁴ that 100% of the Chilean population aged 29 and below uses internet, disregard of their income level, sex or area of the country. Other study sponsored by ICEI itself (p.28)⁵ , claims that 79% of the male and female children from the households which have Access to internet have at least one portable computer and 92% of them have a relatively easy access to Google. All the more reason to think about how technology might be a tool for social empowerment in general and I believe this post will enable us all to reflect upon things so natural in our eyes that a critical instance might be fruitful for further development.

The way I see it, access to ICT promotes social empowerment in several senses, but primarily in the way that it allows access to information which promotes the exercises of rights and the compliance of duty reinforcing minorities empowerment, it might stimulate, therefore, a sense of security among population through the design of state of art technologies, born at the heart of communities needs and because our favourite pieces of technology might be a vehicle of social change in the longer run because ICT, which is thought of at the core of a community will stimulate future generations values and paradigms.

Needless say how easy it is to open up Google in our mobile phones, either with our own paid phones or by getting access to it either in a Subway Station, Mall facility, University, etc. and find out about any particular issue that might be affecting us. Now imagine you are a person in the need of solving any problem with your Health provider, the fact of being able to access a wide range of institutions and the information about duties and regulations from the comfort of your home (or other nearby place) in their online branches might make the life of a person more comfortable and more just as well, in this way the access to a basic human right might be ensured through the access to technology, and on its own right the design of itself. It is already known for example that in our country the 43% of the users of internet aged 61 to 75 have used the Internet to find out about the Health Care System and Institutions (p. 53)⁴ , in this way the access and use of the internet and the design and implementation of ICT applications  that help citizens have an easy, transparent and straightforward knowledge of institutional machinery and establishment, bridges the gap of inequality by providing a instance for improving the relationship of the Governmental and Private institutions with the population, ensuring the promotion of Human Rights and thus improving the quality of life of the different communities and minorities that compose society.

The previously mentioned it is not only true for senior citizens of this country, but it is also true worldwide and for a wider range of population. In fact recently, it has been stated that the access to and design of “mobile technology is a key tool in improving women’s lives and status” going further to state that “beyond simple means of communication, mobile devices help provide a sense of physical security to women… as well as health advice.” ⁶ and with it a series of initiatives and methodologies have been carried out, mostly regarding the development and design of technology aiming at preventing violence against women, providing instances for girls to get protected against online sexual violence or cyberbullying, also providing advice in matters such a women’s sexual care, and guidance and support in cases where violence has existed all in all actively encouraging the rise of an international community of support against gender violence in places where the access to some perspectives is restricted to women for ideological reasons and presently countries such as “Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa” have constituted a partnership which will implement these methodologies. (op. cit.)

Nowadays, it is estimated that worldwide 200 million more men than women have access to internet⁷ which means that in order to a have a more egalitarian global society the access to ICT should increase not only in terms of the means of entry but most deeply in the way technology is being created, produced and designed because if women are equally included in the future, we might increase participation, promote creativity, innovations, and bring along equal leadership instances.

Finally, recognizing that technological innovation is at the very heart of Human Progress and goes hand in hand with both economical and epistemic development and change, we can see crystal clear the importance of having equal access of all sectors of society to both, the current technology available and also to the possibility of designing and creating the technology that will shape the future. In doing so, for example, by broadening up the access in the use and participation in the creation of technology to all communities of society, we promote the overcoming of access barriers and thus we help in creating a more equitable future. For example, by improving the access to mobile technology, indirectly (or directly) we are improving language skills so people would understand the language technology is provided in  (once it was latin, or later French, and nowadays English) so promoting technological literacy, another area we would be bridging would be the current underrepresentation of women in professions related to IT, Engineering and or Science, also, it may have an effect in the production of Knowledge, therefore, stimulating new thinking paths for the future along with increasing the inclusion of women participation in the labor force and in doing so have an impact on women’s position relative to men ³and extrapolating this to a couple of generations being born under such reality, it is not hard again to view technology in general as a vehicle of social change, democratization and equality engine.

Although in Chile we take technology influence for granted due to the easiness we have in the access nowadays, we have seen throughout these short lines that effectively, our favourite piece of technology, or furthermore, technology on its own can be a vehicle for empowerment of communities against different instances of violence and inequality. We have particularly checked on some ways in which fight against gender violence and communities and minority groups empowerment can be triggered through the access to and design of technology worldwide leading us to conclude that technology produces empowerment in the way that it might provide communities with both a sense of security and mechanisms to ensure it, it might also supply with an instance to improve citizenship access to societal machinery and information that helps ensuring social rights and responsibilities and finally we have seen that human progress comes along with technological innovation and therefore the importance of it in order to bridge the gap of inclusion and equality and in such way enabling epistemic and ideological perspectives to be contested and thought over leading to eventual paradigmatic change and for all this is that I believe that Technology is effectively concomitant to socio-cultural progress.

Key Words: Technology, Gender, Violence, Social Empowerment, Mobile, ICT, IT.

Sources:

Photo: How does access to technology impact gender equality and lead to women's human rights? The statistics speak for themselves in this IGNITE infographic. At: http://ignite.globalfundforwomen.org/gallery/infographic-how-does-access-technology-lead-gender-equality

^1.a- INDEXMUNDI, UNICEF (2016). “Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation”. At http://www.wssinfo.org/)https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/chile/indicator/SH.H2O.SAFE.ZS

https://www.as-coa.org/articles/weekly-chart-access-drinking-water-latin-america-and-caribbean

^1.b- Gonzalez, Elizabeth (2017). “Weekly Chart: Access to Drinking Water in Latin America and the Caribbean” . At https://www.as-coa.org/articles/weekly-chart-access-drinking-water-latin-america-and-caribbean

^1.c- WHO/UNICEF JMP, online: https://washdata.org/

² Trading Economics (2017) "Chile - Access to electricity (% of population)". At: https://tradingeconomics.com/chile/access-to-electricity-percent-of-population-wb-data.html

³ Jacobsen, Joyce P. (2011). "The Role of Technological Change in Increasing Gender Equity with a Focus on Information and Communications Technology". Wesleyan University Middletown CT USA. At: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2012/Resources/7778105-1299699968583/7786210-1322671773271/jacobsen-final-draft-april23-2011.pdf   

⁴ Ipsos- Gobierno de Chile (2016). “Estudio Octava Encuesta sobre Acceso, Usos y Usuarios de Internet en Chile”. At http://www.subtel.gob.cl/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Informe_VIII_Encuesta_de_Acceso_Usos_y_Usuarios_de_Internet_vf.pdf   

⁵ Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2017). Implementación de estudio de usos, oportunidades y riesgos en el uso de TIC por parte de niños, niñas y adolescentes en Chile: Informe final. Encargado por MINEDUC y UNESCO-OREALC, Chile: Cabello, P., Claro, M, Lazcano. D. Antezana, L. & Maldonado, L. at: https://biblioteca.digital.gob.cl/bitstream/handle/123456789/1409/Informe%20final%20Kids%20Online.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

⁶ UNESCO (2018). “Mobile technology: An enabler of women empowerment”. At: https://en.unesco.org/news/mobile-technology-enabler-women-empowerment

⁷ Global Fund for Women (2017). “Technology Initiative closing the global gender gap in technology”. At: https://www.globalfundforwomen.org/our-approach/initiatives/technologyinitiative/#.W02RudJKjIW