Remote Connections to Empowerment - Navigating the Gendered Digital Divide in Gondar, Ethiopia

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Gender Studies, grade: 1st Class with Distinction(93%), University of Cambridge, course: BA Geography - Gender and Development, language: English, abstract: Whilst the development of ICTs in Ethiopia has proved in many instances to be a promising tool for women's empowerment, a 'complex web of factors' (Buskens & Webb, 2008) that determine access to these facilities has caused the scope of their benefit to be limited. In Ethiopia, engagements with ICTs in education and society continue to show a marked gender gap. To identify the obstacles to ICTs faced by women, the focus of analysis must extend beyond women themselves. Hence, this research has taken a multi-perspective approach, sampling a diverse range of respondents including men, women, youth, University students, IT professionals and government officials. This cross-section was taken from Gondar Town in the Amhara Region of Northern Ethiopia in order to situate the gendered barriers to ICT amongst a broader social, cultural, economic and political landscape. Therefore, since 'ICT usage represents a social reality' (Wood, 2001: paragraph 5.7), 'a gender lens alone becomes insufficient: other forms of social exclusions [...] have to be considered' (Rowbotham, 1995:65, Morgan, Heeks & Arun, 2004).

Alice Apsey attended Newnham College at the University of Cambridge between 2011-2014. She read Geography and her final year dissertation has since won four national prizes including the prestigious Gladstone Memorial Prize. She hopes to pursue her interest in International Development further, and has a particular interest in the Communications work that Development agencies undertake.