ACCESS AND OBSTACLES

In many developing countries, less than one percent of the population-male or female-has Internet access. Obtaining reliable statistics on women's Internet use in developing countries is difficult because the standard indicators are rarely disaggregated by sex, and the available data are not very reliable or comparable. However, it is clear that the numbers are small and the distribution limited. Available figures indicate that, by region, women constitute 22 percent of all Internet users in Asia, 38 percent of those in Latin America, and six percent of Middle Eastern users. No regional figures by sex are available for Africa. It should be noted that most women Internet users in developing countries are not representative of women in these countries as a whole but, rather, are part of a small, urban, educated elite.

Statistics by country are particularly puzzling because there does not appear to be any correlation between women's Internet usage and expected indicators such as female literacy rate, female GDP per capita, female representation in professional and technical jobs, or gender empowerment. Developing countries with high female Internet use have low overall Internet use. In countries where the Internet is used primarily by an urban elite, women are well represented. But as GDP rises, the overall dominance of men edges the percentage of female use lower.

A series of factors constrain women's access to IT, including literacy and education, language, time, cost, geographical location of facilities, social and cultural norms, and insufficient computer and information management skills.

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