Integrating women and ICT
Women have been excluded from the design and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for an extended period of time, which has caused considerable concern. Thus initiatives for promoting the inclusion of women in both the private and the public sector via surveys and detailed case studies spanning two years were developed across five European countries. These case studies spanned a wide array of contexts from government policy to women's networking organisations. The research was divided into two stages. The first stage consisted of a thorough overview of the ways women were excluded as well as a literature review and statistical trends of gender and ICT. The second stage was comprised of an empirical study of public and private initiatives involved in the inclusion of women in the Information Society. It also involved women's experiences as users of such initiatives. The forty-eight case studies consisted of public efforts to include women in ICT, which involved both education and training. Private efforts for inclusion involved designing products, websites and support networks for IT professions and industry recruitment and retention of women in the digital design field. The important insights obtained from the policy and design guidelines regarding the understanding of gender and ICT are useful for policy-makers, educators and designers alike. They can potentially advance the inclusion and integration of women in the Information Society.
