What it took: Reflections on the Grace Research Journey

Key note address at the Launch of 'African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment', at the UNISA Library in Pretoria, 7 September 2009.

Ineke Buskens

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and friends…
I want to thank UNISA, especially the UNISA Library and the UNISA Press staff for organising this launch and for inviting me to speak at this event.

I am honoured.

I want to start with sharing wit you that Pretoria means something special to me: my first professional adventure after my husband I arrived here in 1990 from Brazil, started here at the Human Sciences Research Council, at the Centre for Research Methodology, of which I became the head in 1991, a position I held for five years. Thanks to those very challenging and enriching years, I was able to establish my consultancy Research For the Future in 1996, which eventually has led to y involvement with GRACE, the Gender Research Networks that focus on the use of ICTs for Empowerment in Africa and Arab countries. So in a way, I am a home girl reporting back to home.

I am proud of our book. Very proud.

I am proud that we brought this very challenging journey to a good end. I am proud that we were able to transform our learnings into a product we can share with the world. I am proud of every one of us. I am also grateful to each and every one of us.

And during this little time that I have with you, I want to tell you why I think that our journey was so particularly challenging.

We all gathered here know that knowledge is important, I do not have to tell you that.

Library houses knowledge and a university press diffuses it: knowledge that comprises people's best efforts, greatest dreams and deepest worries. So indeed what more appropriate venue could there have been for our book launch than this place?

Knowledge is about concepts and the power of concepts.

Our concepts have created the world we live in, the lives we live. Everything was a thought before it became physical reality: this library had a design before the bricks came, our cd ROMs disks needed quantum physics concepts to open up the technological pathways we now so take for granted.

Our concepts do not only shape our physical reality, they also shape our non-physical reality. Our concepts are the houses we live in, and we look out from the windows of these houses. And then we create our reality according to what we see and this reality leads in turn to more emotions and other thoughts, which then lead to other realities and so we can go on and on.

Sometimes we create our own concepts, but most often we inherit them and unfortunately, very often we do not question them. I will give you an example: a "mega concept" that very few people seem to question is the economic concept of "scarcity". In a world where nature teaches us everyday that we may have everything in abundance when we can be the wise stewards of ourselves and our environments, we humans have created a sub system of economics, which of course is a sub system to the wider biological and ecological system we live in and are a part of, that is grounded in "lack". And when we for instance know that diamonds are actually destroyed in Kimberley, here in South Africa, so they keep their vale, then this demonstrates to us where the actual reality of abundance and the artificial man made reality of scarcity are at odds. I do not want to go deeper into this particular concept; it is not the main focus of our being together here this morning. It is just an example that you may want to contemplate further.

What is important to realise from this example for our purpose this morning - which is about me trying to explain to you why our journey was so challenging and why I am so proud - is the fact that even in the light of this clash of "realities", very few people would want to let go of the concept of "scarcity". But why not? Isn't the concept of abundance much more attractive than the concept of lack? Wouldn't the reality we could create with the concept of abundance be much more liveable, sustainable and joyful than the concept of lack?

Indeed it would.

BUT: We human beings are creatures of habit.

We tend to be afraid of change.

When we would have to let go of the concept of lack and scarcity maybe we would have to let go of our money system, as we know it. Maybe we cannot imagine that? And something we cannot imagine will not happen. We have adapted ourselves to a sub optimal reality in terms of our emotions, our thoughts, our dreams and our aspirations. And this seems to be part of the human condition. It seems to be how we function, how we operate. A part of our being is programmable and this part of our being is strong. There is another part of our being that can observe this programming, sometimes this other part is strong enough to intervene and stop the programming and then we can experience a change in our reality. Einstein once said: very few people think with their own mind and feel with their own heart. And he is right. But this does not mean that we do not have the potential to do so and strengthen our capacity to do so, when we want this and can imagine it. The way in which I see change is: what appears a miracle to the conservative part of our being appears as the common reality to the imaginative part of our being. Maybe that is why Adrienne Rich, the famous feminist poet once said: "Change is the only poem".

Now to our book.

Our book is about women and about women empowerment.

African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, gender and empowerment.

That is what we did indeed.

Women live in a men's world still.

We have grown up in images that strengthen the male experience of our world.

From the room of my guesthouse this morning I saw a huge soccer ball wrapped around the tele-communication tower. And I wondered, in a world of partnership where women and women's realities would count as much as men and men's realities would there be such hype about a game like soccer? Because, with all the costs…what will it really contribute to the well being of the people in this country? But lets not go into that, another topic altogether again.

Back to women and their thinking and our book.

Women are, like all human beings, perfectly capable of rationalising something that is not good for them into something so good for them that they cannot let go of it.

The most dramatic example is of course Female Genital Mutilation, that is perpetrated by women on women, who of course are socialised (brain washed?) into believing that this is the right thing to do.

But we find many less dramatic examples in our daily lives. And because they are so "normal" to us, we do not question them.

What this means for research is the following:

When we do research with women, and we would merely focus on their lived realities and their perceptions of their lived realities, without contesting their knowledge as to whether it really serves their dreams in relation to the purpose which we (researchers and research participants) are working on together (like for instance empowerment through the use of Information Communication Technology) we could as researchers, contribute to these women' s further dis-empowerment.

And because we in GRACE did not want to do this, because we wanted to stay true to the purpose that we set out together in Johannesburg in October 2004: Women Empowerment through the use of Information Communication Technology, we had to do research in such a way that we could create the space where women would be able to listen to the various parts of their beings and could give voice to those different parts. And where we as researchers, could listen to them, really listen and contest. Contest in love and respect. There is a saying by Carlos Castaneda (an anthropologist by the way) who has Don Juan, the shaman in his books, describes a warrior as patient, ruthless, sweet and cunning. I liked that; I could see how those same qualities would be needed by researchers, especially by women researchers doing research with women. Because women researchers do share the same predicament as their female respondents: their brains are permeated with male images, concepts, thoughts and feelings. And in order to become another woman's guardian, in order to create a space for her dreams and a new and empowering reality to be worded and realised, one has to be able to do this for oneself. We all, in GRACE had to learn how to become our own guardians, the Watchers at the Gates of our Minds.

I think we succeeded.

I think the chapter of which our Buhle is first author is a shining example. For the ones of you who have not read this chapter yet, I strongly advise you to read it. I will give you here the gist of this chapter:

At the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, access to the free Library computers, was governed on the basis of the Rule of First Come, First Serve. The librarians however noticed that the overwhelming majority of the students using the computers were male. Asking the female students about their perspectives and experiences around access, the female students spoke about their duties as wives and mothers at home, which they had to fulfil exactly during the time in which the computers were free, and about the fact that when they would line up they would run the risk of being pushed out of the line by the male students. And whilst they acknowledged the First Come First Serve Rule as democratic, fair and even empowering, they lamented at the same time that they had to put in extra efforts to get access to computers in other ways. These female students did not have a concept, a way of thinking about this access rule that really matched their experience of this rule, the lived reality that was a consequence of this rule. When the researchers subsequently deepened their research efforts, and created opportunities for these women to face their experiences, emotions, reflections and dreams, these female students were able to bring more coherence to their thinking and acknowledge their lack of access as inconvenient and disempowering. There were however deviant cases, a few young women who did manage access to the computers and the researchers needed to make sense of this research data also.

Now I want you to ask yourself what it would take, in patience, in sweetness, in cunning and in ruthlessness, to accomplish:

• Getting insight into how women constructed their lack of access to the library computers as democratic and empowering.
  
• Contesting this knowledge in such an empowering way that these women did realise there was another truth, a more empowering truth possible
  
• Handling the paradox of the deviant cases: women who did access the computers
  
• And to link the reason why the deviants were able to access the computers, with a potential future for the majority of students who did not manage access, in a way that did not judge, shame or disempower students, nor the library management.
  

This is knowledge construction that is life giving.

It is empowering and it will contribute to a better world.

But it is challenging indeed.

And that is why, for me, this celebration is appropriate.

That is why UNISA is indeed the right place to have it.

You may understand now why I am proud and grateful.

I am very proud of our Buhle, your Buhle and I am grateful.

And in Buhle, I want to thank all Grace researchers.

I came to call them the graciousnesses.

And gracious indeed they are.

Thank you.

Male Gender Development Dialogues Project

 

 

1. Context
   

Research has shown that the environments in which women find themselves in various contexts of Zambian society [as in most other poor developing countries] remain hostile and patriarchal. This conditioning places men in positions of assumed authority relative to women leading to the imbalances that are blamed for many development challenges this society faces today.

 

Despite the bias towards men, some men have identified the unfairness of the status quo and they have dedicated their time, talents and work toward addressing the imbalance. Working in diverse areas of development [the arts, literature, advocacy etc.] their feminist point of view, work and consciousness renders them unique and in conflict with the status quo while also exposed to ridicule by the traditional establishment that forms the context in which they live and work. Learning about their choices to work towards gender equity/ equality and experiences as a consequence of these choices within the paradigm described above would render clarity to the context and also present lessons on how men can begin to view partnership with women as an alternative and preferred reality to the unjust traditional current state of affairs.

 

Using the internet as a platform for this dialogue would not only serve to enhance the reach of the debate beyond the research environment but also serve as an open learning platform for all in access to the medium and provide an access point for support among men of similar feminist development interest. Due to its fluidity and diversity in choice of applications, the internet provides a multiplicity of means of sustaining male feminist dialogues [be they multiple streams of dialogue, common threads of thought etc]
creating individual male feminist web spaces and Web resources for use in learning, exhibitions, research, reporting and debate.

Learning about the lives, experiences and work of these men; self examination of feminist values and experiences by men; the use of the internet as a learning platform and a tool of transmission and engagement in Zambia, how the internet can facilitate the transference of the dialogue to other ICTs or forums renders this research of critical importance in the process of learning about actively influencing attitudes and assumptions that have been held for many traditions in Zambian society.

 

1. Research Purpose
   

To explore how internet dialogues on gender by men can support men to examine how they can contribute to a gender just and balanced Zambia while being aware of their own feminist values and experiences.

 

1. Research Question
   

How would Male Gender Internet Dialogues enhance enlightenment on feminism, gender and development in Zambian society?

 

1. Theory of Change and Theoretical Framework
   
2. Theory of Change
   

The purpose [To explore how internet dialogues on gender by men can support men to examine how they can contribute to a gender just and balanced Zambia while being aware of their own feminist values and experiences] involves building relationships that can project the principle of gender equality in Zambia and democratic debate and the democratic allowance of further debate within the debate to manifest itself will lead to a wider reach in expectations of impact. What is valuable here is that in the room of gender discourse, the male voice is dim if not silent and in this framework we see an attempt at granting it co-ownership [democracy].

 

1. Theoretical framework
   

Input theory envisages the creation of a space and the criteria for discourse provides opportunity for interrelation, openness and creation.

 

The Output theory level suggests that a space for discourse allows recreation of new spaces and proposals for actions or shifts in behavior and practices.

 

Creativity allows for dreaming or discerning alternatives and breaking the gender divide in as far as dialoguing the biases that have prevailed for a long time.

 

Including men in Dialoguing biases provides the missing link to ownership of the debate and informs consensus on policy reform, behavior change and culture shifting.

 

1. Methodology and methodological Justification
   

The research is grounded by a Mediating Discourse strategy and the traditions of feminist theorizing that inform the values of GRACE. The research practice will be framed by two complementing Qualitative Action Research methodologies;

 

• Co-orporative Inquiry and
  
• Appreciative Inquiry
  

 

The entire research process will be subjected to the quality and impact framework that serves to map the project processes of intention, theoretical proposition, project practice and outcome/impact

 

1. Methodological Justification
   

I find that groundings are important in structuring the research process. The mediating discourse allows for the linking of theories of change with the practice of applying recommended changes in a practical way within the research environment without the element of judgment. This meaning that the change that takes place will not automatically be attributed to the change theory [or that the change theory will be expected to be the only means of proposing the ultimate change] I may envisage in the interim but result from dialogues, sharings and observations that are within the dialogical environment [this fluidity allows for organic growth of theory, practice and change as induced by practical need and relevance]. Women's development and progress is the underlying principle of GRACE and it remains the crowning purpose of the research.

 

The two complementing Qualitative Action Research methodologies;

 

1. Co-orporative Inquiry: An action research methodology that works best in a research where the researcher works with people with similar interests and concerns, where these people are drawn to the interest of collectively learning and sharing and supporting each other in the inquiry process and based on this fact, it is suited to the research question because of my interest and involvement in gender development work as a man. Sharing experiences and ideas will best be retained within this research methodology framework. It also complements the research question and project purpose.
   

   
    

2. Appreciative Inquiry: Appreciative Inquiry liberates the creative and constructive potential of groups and using this methodology within the research process will serve to take the respondents (including myself) to a deeper level of both self consciousness and that of achieving our work and goals more effectively. It also works best in research environments where improvements of working practices are required as would be the case when support is requested by participants.
   

   
    

For practical purposes, the research will be contained within the Quality and Impact framework that will also serve as a mapping frame of the progress of the project. Within these methods, such techniques as desk research, in-depth interviews and life journaling will be invaluable.

 

It must be noted that while the methodological choice has been made, I recognize that I still need more understanding on how to harmonize them within the single project. Based on this, I may have to consider allowing for even an organic approach in choice of methodology and basing this on context and relevance in accordance with the time and place. I don't yet see how I would involve quantitative research methods in a major way in this project.

 

 

1. Quality and Impact Framework
   

Expectations of inputs into the Research Project	Theory: What is your theory of change – input to impact?		The purpose [To explore how internet dialogues on gender by men can support men to examine how they can contribute to a gender just and balanced Zambia while being aware of their own feminist values and experiences] involves building relationships that can project the principle of gender equality in Zambia and democratic debate and the democratic allowance of further debate within the debate to manifest itself will lead to a wider reach in expectations of impact. What is valuable here is that in the room of gender discourse, the male voice is dim if not silent and in this framework we see an attempt at granting it co-ownership [democracy].
Inputs	The creation of a space and the criteria for discourse provides opportunity for interrelation, openness and creation
Identification, introduction and induction of respondent [Zambian Male Boundary partners]. Learning about what informs their ideals and values and what they do and their aspirations and hopes and dreams.   Creations of an internet dialogue space. This based on the requirements and needs of participants [skills training, access] and in recognition of the capacity for growth of this space or the need for alternate web spaces that may form as a result of breakout dialogues   Democratic dialogue. Allowing for a space for the testing of ideas, generating new associations and enriching thoughts. Providing a neutral space where parallels of thinking are acceptable and organic growth of other debates outside the space is documented and free to manifest. This under certain guidelines in keeping with protection of the overall purpose
Outputs	A space for discourse allows recreation of new spaces and proposals for actions or shifts in behavior and practices
Formation of networks of engagement around shared or differing ideas and points of view.   Formation of clusters and subgroups organically   Development of awareness in the spheres of work of the participants   Creation of a wave of discourse by men on their function within the realm of gender and development
Outcomes		Creativity allows for dreaming or discerning alternatives and breaking the gender divide in as far as dialoguing the biases that have prevailed for a long time
Collective and individual actions, formations of ideas and interventions, innovations   Development support structures for men who need them in terms of resources and discourse and as a shield from potential reprimand
Impact		Including men in Dialoguing biases provides the missing link to ownership of the debate and informs consensus on policy reform, behavior change, culture shifting
Societal and Behavioral change breaking down biases   Wave momentum is created renewing the gender debate   Inter-level engagements and generic formations of developmental discourses leading to ownership of the concept of gender and gender equality across sexes and sectors or organs of society

 

1. Outcome Map
   
   1. Project Vision
      

A gender conscious and enlightened Zambian society with men contributing to the gender and development dialogue that leads to their own self awareness and feminist consciousness and the sharing of ideas that lead to gender aware and sensitive development in all sectors of Zambian society

 

1. Project Mission
   

To provoke and stimulate a gender dialogue process among and with men with the use of the internet as a primary medium that leads to a buildup of male gender dialogues beyond the project sphere and the establishment of male co-developed actions, explorations and exhibitions for gender development and consciousness in Zambia.

 

1. Boundary partners
   

The boundary partners are Organizations and individuals who have been identified for their contributions and potential to contribute to the gender development dialogue in Zambia [they may have contributed work and they have potential to work within the area]. They have also been identified for their potential and ability to take the dialogue to its highest possible dissemination in various forms within their contexts or spheres of work. It must also be noted that these organizations would benefit from the knowledge created in the research process and thus for observations sake, they find their place within the project. These Organizations may also turn to each other as they reflect on each other's various areas of work in a process of networking and knowledge sharing.

 

The Boundary partners have been categorized according to areas of work forming boundary partner clusters which individually themselves are potential boundary partners [the clusters are groupings of organizations of similar interest and work] for the purpose of developing the basis for individual boundary partner discussions on participation in the project. These clusters are: Gender Advocacy Civil Society Organizations; Media Institutions; Creativity and expression fraternities; Funding and Resource Organizations; Policy making Institutions; Individual Respondents/ partners.

 

Becoming Aware of What is Going On: Reflecting on Social and Gender Injustice in the Context of Human Development, Poverty and ICTs

By Ineke Buskens

Introduction

In concerning ourselves about the role of ICTs for human development and poverty reduction, we take a position grounded in a sense of social justice, and we look through the lens of human agency at the economic potential of ICTs.

The concept of human development is grounded in social justice. A commitment to social justice in a gendered world means commitment to the practical application of gender justice. Social and gender issues are inextricably intertwined, yet gender justice is an end in itself. Women have the right to experience their being-ness for themselves, to perceive themselves as the most important reason for their own existence, and not to be defined mainly by what they mean to others: husbands, children and parents.

Having said that, social and economic empowerment of women will have a wider developmental impact than individual women's advancement, because women are "concerned with the well being of their children, their husbands and the economics of their villages" and wider communities. "Nothing is as important today in the political economy of development as an adequate recognition of the political, economic and social participation and leadership of women" (Sen, 1999).

"Research in, about and for human development" has to be grounded in the conscious acknowledgement of and reflection on the agency of the various parties that define its practice: donors, researchers and research participants. In this text I want to set the stage for reflection on the agency of two such groups: women who use Information Communication Technology for development and empowerment, and people like us who do research with such women or who set a research agenda for others to do so.

Human agency is the capacity for human beings to make choices and to impose those choices on the world. The concept of choice cannot be discussed outside of the concept of consciousness and the interplay between consciousness and environment.

What seems important to me for our discussions over these two days, is attempting to understand women's rationalities for development action (or the lack of it) as grounded in their realities, and to share with each other the frames of reference we as researchers (and as the ones setting research agendas) entertain. Our perspectives, whether they are unquestioned assumptions or lived experience that got transformed into personal truth and wisdom, will define the knowledge construction processes that will impact on future research participants' and research beneficiaries' parameters for agency and choice.

I thus want to tell a story that was one of the case studies in the GRACE Africa Research Network's First Phase, contextualize it with insights gained within the wider research quest in which this particular research took place (Buskens & Webb), and respond to it from my own theoretical, methodological and normative positions. This allows me to speak to the relationship between ICTs, human development and poverty reduction, while becoming transparent as a "constructor of knowledge".

Bahati's story

"Bahati was born in a rural area in Tanzania to poor parents. Her education was minimal - primary school and a few months of dress-making training. So Bahati decided to try her luck in Dar es Salaam, where she could live with an aunt who was supported by her children. Bahati first tried dress-making. Because the competition was too fierce to make a reasonable living, she turned to hairdressing instead. She worked long hours and made very little money because she worked in a salon owned by somebody else, but she persisted. She started saving of the little money she earned and after two years of saving was able to buy a mobile phone. Once she had this phone, she had her freedom: she shared her number with her clients and soon after, could establish her own business. Never did she use the phone for private or social calls; she only used it to receive bookings and inquire from clients what hair extensions they wanted. By the time the researchers finished their work with Bahati she had bought a house of her own and was able to rent out a room for extra income. With a monthly income of about 300$, Bahati lives well above the poverty line of less than a dollar per day. In all the years that Bahati has lived in Dar es Salaam, she has not been able to contact her family at home because of the fact that there is no connectivity in the area where she was born" (Meena & Rusimbi, pp. 194, 195).

Responses to Bahati's Story

The Fix-It approach…

Stories such as these take on a life of their own in our discourses. If, in listening to this story, one would react with: "Ah shame, let's send all our second-hand mobiles to Tanzania so people like Bahati would not need to save for two years to obtain a mobile phone", the meaning of this story for development research practice and discourse would be missed. Such a "fix-it" reflex originates from the listener's need to see a different reality than the one which presents itself. The emotions of judgment close the processes of analysis and interpretation prematurely, and should be held lightly and observed closely.

Humans can do anything

The story speaks to the grand narrative of the resilience of the human spirit. When one's dream is powerful enough to commit to personal change, the greatest of adversities can be overcome. As such, the story is an opportunity to understand the processes of personal change that a "poor person striving for wealth and security" sets in motion. From such a perspective, the two years that Bahati needed to save for her mobile phone were probably pivotal. Maybe those two years were essential not only to hone her hairdressing talent, but also to forge a disciplined mind, grow in self-confidence and prepare for a new life. And in those two years Bahati combined her "power within which pushed her to do things for her own advancement" (Meena & Rusimbi, p. 194) with the power to reach out for support and to receive it, the "power with". The two "powers" together became the "power to" accomplish, and to realize her dream.

Beware of romanticizing the poor

Idealizing the survival power of the poor, which is deemed to be grounded in their social base and social organization, would be unethical. Bahati would not have succeeded in her quest if it had not have been for her aunt, and her aunt would not have survived and been able to support Bahati if it had not been for her children. That is all true. But one has to be cautious here. Gonzalez de la Rocha describes how the "myth of survival" (to which her earlier research had contributed) was abused by an international development organization to justify policies that put breaking-point stress on the Mexican poor. She emphasizes empathically that social and economic policies should be designed and implemented with a view to strengthening the resources of the poor, instead of taking them for granted (Gonzalez de la Rocha, p. 62).

Poverty is expensive …gender discrimination more expensive still

One could raise the question of what Bahati's country and even the world at large are actually missing out on, with Bahati still living on the margins of her society: What would a woman like this, with the focus and discipline she displayed, have accomplished if educated well? What contributions could she have made to her society and to the world? CEO of a network perhaps? A minister? If she had been born a boy in that area of the world, her chances of receiving more education might have been better, and thus her contribution to her community more substantial.

It is about use of ICTs not about ICTs

The crucial research concept is not "ICTs", but "use of ICTs". ICTs do not do anything, be it alleviating poverty or creating wealth. In this particular case, Bahati worked herself out of poverty into some measure of security and wealth through the power of her disciplined mind, her willingness to change and take risks by leaving her family and familiar environment, and the wise and economic use of her mobile phone. Avoiding the pitfalls of personifying objects and objectifying human beings contributes to conceptual clarity and thus research quality. Furthermore, accepting "use of ICTs" instead of "ICTs" as the main research concept creates space for the concept of human agency.

ICTs as handmaidens of our divisive economic-financial-monetary systems

The story evokes the question as to why a mobile phone should cost almost two years of a hairdresser's salary in East Africa, while the same item would cost a hairdresser in the North or the West not more than a lunch or two. There is something fundamentally wrong with the economic-financial-monetary systems that we use to govern our world. These systems are not only instrumental in creating more disparity between countries, but also within countries. When ICTs are drawn into this financial-economical-monetary power field, the ICT users perpetuate its dynamics of division and exploitation. Abraham's research in Zambia reveals how the prohibitive cost of mobile phone use has a profound divisive effect on women who use their phones for the explicit purposes of connection, mobilization and social advocacy. The women users now speak of "callers" and "bleepers"; a "virtual class system" has been created. One can only wonder about the longer-term effects this will have on Zambia's women's movement and other social movements (Abraham, p. 102). There seems to be a limit to the empowering potential of ICT use within a profoundly divisive economic-financial-monetary system.

Sub-Saharan Africa as the benchmark for the developing world

Bahati may have been lucky that she was born in East Africa: if born to poor parents in India (Kerala excluded), Pakistan, China or North Africa, she might not have lived to reach adulthood. In China Bahati could have been thrown away as a female baby. In India she could have died from malnutrition as a toddler. In North Africa she could have been sold into slavery at 5 years old. The low female-male ratios in these countries indicate that 100 million women could be missing. With a female-male ratio of 1.022, sub-Saharan Africa is used as a benchmark for the developing world (Sen, pp. 99-110). The women that bear the heaviest burden of gender discrimination in this world may actually never get to a position where they can use ICTs for their development and empowerment.

Female and male work connotations and aspirations

Bahati's story also speaks to the power of the gendered aspirations for labor and entrepreneurship prevalent in her community. She was exposed to ideas about dress-making and hairdressing and thus carved her future in line with these horizons. "Female" occupations are usually less lucrative than "male" labor activities, thus contributing to the feminization of poverty. According to Margaret Mead, the value given to gender attaches itself to the value given to labor activities. In other words, in a culture where men do the weaving and women the pottery, weaving would be valued higher than pottery. In a culture where women did the weaving and men the pottery, pottery would be higher valued. Evidence from recent times would support this observation. This would mean that women entering certain ICT arenas would automatically "devalue" those sectors and end up being lesser paid for their labor. So instead of pushing policies that aim to stream women into male-dominated fields, it would be good to investigate how images of "womanhood" and (economic) value impact each other at various layers of (un)consciousness, and design interventions that would influence such dynamics.

Using ICTs in gender-bending ways…

In using her mobile phone to start and run her hairdressing business, Bahati did not (have to) break any gender images about how a good and decent woman should behave. But then, she was not married…

Women operating village phones in rural Uganda reported to the researcher that they had to choose between their marriage and their economic advancement, since their husbands could not cope with their increasing economic empowerment and social independence (Bantebya, pp. 156-160). Some women divorced and some toned their businesses down. The "deviant case" (out of 9 case studies) attributed her acquisition of a husband to her improved financial circumstances and valued his support in her "gender-bending" work: "My husband knows the value of my phone business and does not complain about my prolonged absence from home and exposure to the public. This alone gives me strength and confidence, and resilience to continue with such work despite my Islamic faith, which does not condone such work, especially for married women. The fact that I am working against such odds makes me feel empowered" (Bantebya, pp. 156-160).

It seems that for women to make use of the opportunities for advancement that ICTs offer, they often need the capacity to stand alone and forsake the need for social approval. Yet there seems to be the potential for (more progressive?) companionship when such a revolutionary pathway has been carved out.

ICTs: Power and empowerment

ICTs are powerful tools that can be socially invasive and personally addictive. In order to use ICTs for empowerment and development, certain internal and external factors need to be in place; women need to be empowered to a certain degree in order to use ICTs for empowerment. Bahati is a case in point: she did not become a slave to her mobile phone, she remained in control of its use and displayed extraordinary discipline and constraint. While these powerful tools need a certain power to handle them to one's advantage, their use can be intrinsically empowering when handled well.

In their research at the University of Harare, Zimbabwe, Mbambo-Thata et al. found that the majority of female students would (or could?) not make use of the free access to the University library computers. They reported that this access conflicted with their other (gendered) responsibilities in terms of timing, and that they were running the risk of being shoved aside by male students when lining up. There was, however, a very small minority of female students who stood their ground (literally and figuratively). These students had previous experience in ICT use, realized that there was a discrepancy between the "theory of equal access" and the "practice of unequal access" and understood this situation as gender discrimination. The researchers wondered whether it was these students' previous exposure to computers and their confidence in using them that motivated and enabled them to stand their ground and "become aware of the existing discrimination and inequality between women and men, and how it affected their lives" (Mbambo-Thata et al.)

Concluding remarks

ICTs are incredibly powerful tools that have affected and transformed all our lives in many and myriad ways. For social researchers, the use of ICTs and effects of the use of ICTs also function as "scratch cards": they reveal the dynamics and patterns underlying (apparently) blank surfaces of social and gender realities. When women in Zambia are killed by their husbands for using their phone to live a social life beyond their husbands' control, a gender reality that may have remained hidden before suddenly becomes starkly visible. This makes us as ICT researchers and as those setting ICT research agendas responsible for sharing what we see beyond a technical perspective: we have to highlight the social and gender injustices that become visible to us, even when we do not have quick-fix solutions handy.

The reflections shared in this text are merely my subjective selection. Many more issues pertaining to social and gender injustice could be shared in a context of human development, poverty and ICTs. However, I am also aware of the fact that there are many more aspects to these issues of which I am not aware, because I have not developed the eyes to see them yet. Ours is a sexist and deeply unjust world, and having been socialized in such a world, nobody - not even the most conscious among us - can claim to be totally free of gender and social blindness. There are only degrees of commitment to become free of such. It is thus pertinent both for reasons of women empowerment and general development to face up to our (inevitable) social and gender blindness in ICT research agendas and designs, as well as in ICT policy briefs and decisions.

Because we all still have so much to learn about such issues, a social and gender focus should be integrated in research and policy thinking from the beginning. This would also mean that space and time would have to be created for policy makers, corporate agents, researchers and practitioners to learn and become aware during processes of research and implementation of "what is really going on".

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge all my GRACE colleagues for the work you have done. You have given so much of yourself in your research projects and in your sharing within the network that I have been able to draw from a very rich pool of learning and experience.

I also want to thank IDRC for the vision to establish GRACE and the funds to make this vision possible and for inviting me to the Harvard II Forum.

I need to stress that the opinions expressed in this position paper are mine alone.

References

Abraham, Kiss, B. (2009). "The names in your address book: are mobile phone networks effective in advocating women's rights in Zambia?" In: Buskens, Ineke & Webb, Anne (eds.) (2009) African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. Zed Books / IDRC, London / Ottawa.

Bantebya Kyomuhendo, Grace (2009). "The mobile payphone business: a vehicle for rural women's empowerment in Uganda" In Buskens, Ineke & Webb, Anne (eds.) African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. Zed Books / IDRC, London / Ottawa.

Buskens, Ineke & Webb, Anne (eds.) (2009) African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. Zed Books / IDRC, London / Ottawa.

Chesler, Phyllis. (2001). Woman's Inhumanity to Woman. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press/Nation Books.

Cornwall, Andrea, Harrison, Elizabeth & Whitehead, Ann (eds.) (2008) Gender Myths and Feminist Fables: The struggle for interpretive power in gender and development. The Institute of Social Studies, Den Hague.

Daly, Mary. (1973). Beyond God the Father – Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation. Boston: Beacon Press.

Gonzalez de la Rocha, Mercedes. (2008). "The construction of the Myth of Survival" In:

Cornwall, Andrea; Harrison, Elizabeth & Whitehead, Ann (eds.) Gender Myths and Feminist Fables: The struggle for interpretive power in gender and development. The Institute of Social Studies, Den Hague.

Hannan, Carolyn. (2004).Women's Rights and Empowerment: Gender Equality in the New Millennium. United Nations Day Banquet; Dallas Chapter of the United Nations Association.

Mbambo-Thata, Buhle; Mlambo, Elizabeth & Mwatsyia, Precious. (2009). "When a gender blind policy results in discrimination: realities and perceptions of female students at the University of Zimbabwe" In: Buskens Ineke & Webb Anne (eds.) African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. Zed Books / IDRC, London / Ottawa.

Meena, Ruth & Rusimbi, Mary (2009). "Our journey to empowerment: the role of ICT" In: Buskens Ineke & Webb Anne (eds.) African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. Zed Books / IDRC, London / Ottawa.

Nussbaum, MC. (2000). Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University Press.

Nzegwu, Nkiru (2002) "Questions of agency: Development, Donors, and Women of the South." Jenda: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies: 2, 1.

Oxaal, Zoë with Baden, Sally (1997). Gender and Empowerment: Definitions, Approaches and Implications for Policy.

BRIDGE Report 40; ISBN: 1 85864 175 6

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What Matters Most?

What Matters Most?
Reflections for the Discussions on
Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for Human Development, Growth and Poverty Reduction

23, 24 September 2009,
Harvard Faculty Club, Harvard, MA, USA

By Ineke Buskens

What matters most in my opinion is for human beings to live a life on this planet that is worthy of human aspiration, to co-create as humanity a world that is conducive to conscious human evolution. And I am not only thinking here of the people for whom we are gathered here, the people who have come to be known as 'the poor', the "Bottom of the Pyramid", etc, I am also thinking of us and people like us. There is no bottom without a top, and the top is just as much part of the problem as the bottom: we define each other; and what is more, we are all connected. Separation is an illusion. The reality, which we are all waking up to in these days of global warming and financial decline, is that we are all connected.

What should thus matter most for us, here, the people who have this beautiful opportunity to reflect together in this beautiful place on questions of Human Development, poverty reduction, growth and the use of Information Communication Technology, is to work with and within concepts that are aligned to this dream: the dream for a world that is worthy of human aspiration and conducive to conscious human evolution. Concepts are powerful tools that once accepted as intricate part of a collective consciousness create the parameters for people's thoughts, emotions, experiences and realities. And once concepts have such power, people may be reluctant to let them go, even in the light of new evidence that challenges those concepts. To showcase such power I want to tell you the story I have been told by a Darwin expert whom I met in Cambridge, UK, last week: the biggest problem the church had with Darwin's argument for evolution was not with the idea of time. It seemed that the church in those days had an idea of deep time and did not take the 7 days literal. The point was that they could not let go of the concept of redemption: The reasoning was that if there had been a process of evolution, then maybe there had been no Fall, if there had been no Fall, redemption would not be an issue anymore. And of course, redemption is the corner stone of the function and the power of the church. In hindsight it is clear to see that women would have had a different pilgrimage in their striving towards gender equality, dignity and worthiness if the church (and many church goers no doubt too) would not have been so married to the concept of redemption. Because in all the religions of the book, women are made responsible for The Fall.

Turning the focus back to human development and our efforts to think our way out of poverty into wealth through the use of ICTs, I want to highlight two insights I gained through GRACE (the IDRC supported Gender Research in ICTs for Empowerment Research Networks in Africa and the Middle East), that I think are pertinent to our discussions:

• The dominant economic global mindset (paradigm) on this planet is about separation and hierarchy, divide and rule, about creating competition and scarcity, about exploitation of people and resources, not about partnership and connection, about justice or nurturing. And if no other spaces are created, ICTs become the handmaidens of this system and ICT users perpetuate these divisive characteristics. The Zambia study, that took place within the GRACE research network, reveals how the use of mobile phones created a virtual class system within a group of women who used mobile phones to network with each other for the purpose of advocacy for women's rights. The cost of cell phone use created a group of callers (women who could afford calling costs) and beepers (women who could not afford the calling costs). The potential for connection and the intent for connection that is so much part of what we expect of mobile phones (and of all ICTs) was thwarted because of the financial, economic parameters in which this use takes place. And power differentials were created where they did not exist before.
  

• People adapt to their environment. And in doing so they also adapt to the reflection of themselves that the environment gives them. Many people cannot imagine the dreams that would lift them out of their limitations because they do not have the building blocks for these dreams. They do not even have the concepts that match the actual experience of their lived realities. They have adapted their preferences to this power imbalanced world in order to survive in it. This is particularly relevant to women in relationship to development and empowerment efforts. The GRACE Zimbabwe case study I touched on briefly in my paper showcases this dynamic. At the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, access to the free Library computers, was governed on the basis of the Rule of First Come, First Serve. The librarians however noticed that the overwhelming majority of the students using the computers were male. Asking the female students about their perspectives and experiences around access, the female students spoke about their duties as wives and mothers at home, which they had to fulfil exactly during the time in which the computers were free, and about the fact that when they would line up they would run the risk of being pushed out of the line by the male students. And whilst they acknowledged the First Come First Serve Rule as democratic, fair and even empowering, they lamented at the same time that they had to put in extra efforts to get access to computers in other ways. These female students did not have a concept, a way of thinking about this access rule that really matched their experience of this rule, the lived reality that was a consequence of this rule. When the researchers subsequently deepened their research efforts, and created opportunities for these women to face their experiences, emotions, reflections and dreams, these female students were able to bring more coherence to their thinking and acknowledge their lack of access as inconvenient and disempowering. The First Come First Serve Rule was very effective in removing female competition from the computer access arena. It also kept in place the stereotypes about women and their non-use of ICTs. And without the researchers' interventions, the female students would not have been able to do the conceptual work that would give them a position from which to question the fairness of this rule.
  

From these two insights, it becomes obvious that there is no neutral space when it comes to knowledge, knowledge construction, and the tools that give access to knowledge such as ICTs. Ours is a sexist and deeply unjust world and I see a minefield of power dynamics everywhere. And just like a real mine field, if you are not aware and do not take special investigative measures, you only discover the mines by stepping on them.

From this basis I want to speak to the concept of openness that is so much at the heart of this Forum. Although I do not comprehend fully all the conceptual work that has been taking place, what I do comprehend I do appreciate and I have my own hopes and fears in this regard and these I want to share with you.

In the first place I think that behind the practices that are identified as acts of openness, like the development of open source software, open scientific journals and web publishing, there are other dynamics at work. Human motivations, dreams and aspirations and it would be good to keep those in mind.

Yesterday I heard from Matthew that Harvard University has decided to have articles published by Harvard academics immediately loaded on the Harvard website. Being the powerful institution that it is, the journals would have no choice but to comply with that. Harvard's motivation for instigating this web publishing is probably not guided by the idealism of openness but by strategic insight into the power-knowledge dynamics. More and more immediate access to Harvard articles will enhance the authors' influence in their field, their academic reputation and thus also Harvard's standing: a virtuous cycle indeed.

Another example is open source software. When I listen to open source software designers, I do not hear them speak about their desire for openness as a value in itself. I hear the joy of connection with like minds, the joy of creating freely and releasing genius. I also hear care and concern for their environment and the desire to connect their capacities to this environment in the most useful and beneficial way. I hear a dream for a more egalitarian society where networking is a gesture from the heart and the mind. I hear love at work actually.

The third and last example pertaining to the concept of openness I want to discuss here refers to how I see virtual groups of women and of male and female gender researchers manage openness in virtual environments. Women are being killed for being feminists in this world, for being known to be feminist, for speaking up for their and other women's human rights. In such a world, there cannot be unreserved openness yet. I have my own experiences with GRACE but I have also learnt of other groups that protect their boundaries by deciding very carefully who to admit to the inner circle and what to share with the outside world.

I think that we, humans are meant to share and grow in connection with each other. GRACE is proving this to me on a daily basis. The learning and sharing that emerges is beyond governing or steering. It is living a life of its own now. Yet, its boundaries are protected. And the more the openness to the outside world is governed and protected, the more the internal openness is growing.

So in a world of power dynamics that govern the values we attach to gender, and to wealth and status and class, and that keep so many good people still in their spell, I think that the concept of openness needs continuous and relentless questioning. Where there is so much potential for the good, there is also the shadow side of great abuse. If openness is the space, what is the purpose and what is the intent behind it? As 'emergence' is becoming our reality more and more especially in the field of ICTs and because of ICTs, we have to complement the questions of purpose: 'What is this openness going to be used for and for what?' With the questions of intent: 'What is the dream you carry in your heart and mind for the openness you want to see?'

Einstein once said that very few people think with their own mind and feel with their own heart. I think actually that in the emerging new open spaces, the new openness measures and business models as we see them emerge in the ICT arena, there is more space for us thinking with our own minds and our own hearts. I also think that these emerging trends of openness are actually indicators that there is a shift taking place away from separation towards more connection. And so I do have the hope that the dream of connection, which is so much in people's minds and hearts and for which ICTs are most appropriate vehicles, will be able to thrive. And I think what matters most for us would be to realise that the opportunity of thinking these issues through brings with it the responsibility of becoming its guardians. What that would mean in actual reality, would probably differ for different people, and I am sure such issues will emerge in our discussions. From my side, I would like to bring to the fore, that apart from investigating emerging openness and doing work towards establishing or creating the opportunity for more openness to emerge, we also have take a stand, a normative stand. It may have become obvious by now that my dream would be connection, genuine connection between people because in that connection can the striving towards a world worthy of human aspiration take place. And the work of connection and towards connection calls us to recognize power dynamics, name them and keep them aligned with a human future that works for us all.