Sarah Cummings (ed.)

Henk van Dam (ed.)

Minke Valk (ed.)

This book is a collection of case studies about women and their communities in developing countries, and how they have been influenced by information and communication technologies (ICTs). It is motivated by the observation that, "Due to systemic gender biases in ICTs and their applications, women are far more likely than men to experience discrimination in the information society. Women are not giving up on ICTs. On the contrary, even resource-poor and non-literate women and their organisations are aware of the power of information technologies and communication processes and, if given the opportunity to do so, will use them to advance their basic needs and strategic interests."

The five case studies illustrate different contexts in which gender and ICTs for development take shape; they include:

• The effect of ICT on women's enterprise creation: a practical example from China
• E-business piloting and readiness for rural women weavers in Bhutan: lessons learned
• Fishers and radio: a case study of Radio Ada in Ghana
• Development through radio: a case study from Sierra Leone
• Gender, ICTs and health in the Caribbean

An annotated bibliography of the international literature on gender and ICTs for development - rural development in particular - and relevant web resources complements the papers.

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e-Civicus, August 5 2005; KIT Publishers website.