As societies become increasingly dependent on digital technology, women and their broader communities are at risk of losing out on the advantages of full participation in digital economies. Why? The gender digital gap is still wide world over and even worse in third world economies.
The gender digital divide can be grouped into 3 categories:
- Access to and use of digital technologies,
- Participation in the design and production of digital technologies and
- The advancement of women in leadership and decision making roles in the digital sector
The Digital Gender Gap in Uganda
In Uganda where E-zone School of Computing is found, the three points above are very evident despite the government’s efforts to introduce universal ICT education in High School.
A survey by the Uganda Communications Commission in 2014found that only 6% of women in Uganda were online. The World Wide Web Foundation revealed that only 21% of women in Kampala reported access to internet versus 61% for men.
It was reported that gap is perpetuated by the lack of digital skills. The earning gap where women earn on average 30% to 50% than their male counterparts made it difficult for women to adopt to and afford broadband access.
Women in Information Technology Project
At E-zone School of Computing, we noticed that at many of our trainings, there were far fewer women than men. That is why we embarked on a project to help women gain digital skills – The Women in Information Technology Project.
We have engaged several partners including community leaders, school leaders and leaders from places of worship to identify those women who would benefit from our 2 months training in several disciplines in the field of ICT. The response has been tremendous and we have groomed close to 80 women who are now gainfully employed in jobs that require basic ICT skills.
How you can help
Since project inception in 2019, the number of beneficiaries has kept growing. This meant working in shifts since our lab has only 6 computers and can accommodate up to 12 people at a go.
We decided to seek the services of volunteers from the ICT Teachers’ Association of Uganda, Sharebility Uganda, Fides Education Services, Sounds of Hope Uganda and the WordPress Community of Uganda.
With a budget of 5,000 US dollars, we seek to fulfill our goal of a larger and modern computer lab that will help us bridge the gender digital divide in Uganda.
Would you donate towards this project? Donate.
See list of previous donors.
