In the discourse on information and communications technologies (ICTs), the focus has been on the, sometimes negative, relocation of jobs from the developed world. This book focuses, instead, on the positive aspects of the introduction of ICTs and shows how they can empower women and make a difference in today's uneven development process. It illustrates, with case studies from Argentina, Morocco, India, Malaysia and the Philippines, how economic empowerment can change the position of women within their families and workplaces.This book shows how to:- distinguish between liberal and neo-liberal theoretical paradigms while analyzing `informational capitalism interrogate the silence and ambiguity among scholars and practitioners regarding gender equality, ICTs and human development;- avoid imposing canons of Western feminism in assessing the benefits of e-trade in societies where social norms are different; and- incorporate feminist principles of inclusion, user-developer interaction and transparency while designing ICT initiatives.Gender and the Digital Economy is an excellent resource for academic researchers, NGOs and industry analysists in the field of international development communication.

In the discourse on information and communications technologies (ICTs), the focus has been on the, sometimes negative, relocation of jobs from the developed world. This book focuses, instead, on the positive aspects of the introduction of ICTs and shows how they can empower women and make a difference in today′s uneven development process. It illustrates, with case studies from Argentina, Morocco, India, Malaysia and the Philippines, how economic empowerment can change the position of women within their families and workplaces.

This book shows how to:

- distinguish between liberal and neo-liberal theoretical paradigms while analyzing `informational capitalism′;

- interrogate the silence and ambiguity among scholars and practitioners regarding gender equality, ICTs and human development;

- avoid imposing canons of Western feminism in assessing the benefits of e-trade in societies where social norms are different; and

- incorporate feminist principles of inclusion, user-developer interaction and transparency while designing ICT initiatives.

Gender and the Digital Economy is an excellent resource for academic researchers, NGOs and industry analysists in the field of international development communication.

Gender and Empowerment in the Information Economy - Swasti Mitter and Cecil Ng
An Introduction
PART ONE: THEORIZING GENDER, DEVELOPMENT, AND ICTS
A REALITY CHECK
Globalization, ICTs, and Economic Empowerment - Swasti Mitter
A Feminist Critique
From ′Information′ to ′Knowledge′ Societies? Argentina in the Context of Engendered Regional Globalization - Martha Roldán
PART TWO: GENDERED SPACES IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
Female Spaces in the Philippines′ ICT Industry - Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu
Women′s Agency and the IT Industry in India - Govind Kelkar, Girija Shrestha, and Veena N
Valuing Women′s Voices - Cecilia Ng and Swasti Mitter
Call Center Workers in Malaysia and India
Women Weavers Online - Susan Schaefer Davis
Rural Moroccan Women on the Internet
Virtual Community Building for Networking Among Women - Isabel Zorn
PART THREE: THE POLITICS AND POLICIES OF GENDER AND ICTS
Gender-Net - Dora Inés Munévar M and Juan Aburto Arrieta
A Political Goal of Communication Technologies
Thinking BIG to Accelerate Gender Equality and Transformation in the ICT Arena - Gillian M Marcelle