Information and communication technologies (ICTS) for development and gendered realities in the South: Case studies of policy and practice in Ghana

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become a focal development strategy in many countries in the global South. New ICTs such as computers, Internet and mobile phones are seen as pivotal in addressing development problems. As a result, many countries in the South are actively fashioning ICT policies and projects with the aim of leapfrogging or catching up with more advanced countries in the North. Couched in the discourse of bridging the "digital divide" between the North and South, there is proliferation of ICT projects and initiatives aimed at providing universal access. These interventions often assume a technological determinist and patriarchal posture that frames these technologies as neutral and value free. Drawing on critical perspectives on gender, technology and development, this study applies social construction, third world feminist, and postcolonial theories as a lens for conducting macro and micro gender analyses of ICT4D policy and practice in Ghana. Focusing on Ghana's universal access (UA) policy, I study conducted case studies of three different Community Information Centers (CICs). The study used mixed methods in the form of document analysis, survey, in-depth interview and participant observation to interrogate gender in ICT policy and practice in Ghana. The study revealed gendered differences in terms of access, use and impacts in relation to the CICs. The findings suggest that access to ICTs needs to be conceptualized more broadly, as the mere presence of ICTs does not necessarily translate into empowerment and active engagement in the global information economy. ICTs have to be closely linked to livelihoods and must address basic needs in order to engender use. This requires a different articulation that moves away from technological determinism to making ICTs relevant in the everyday lives of Ghanaians by creating possibilities that allow for local participation, innovation, appropriation and production for both women and men.