Computers have allowed people with disabilities to work more independently; they have opened up dozens of new career fields; and they have put job seekers with disabilities on a more equal balance with other applicants.
Electronic technology is now so much integrated into part of our everyday lives, besides being an adaptable tool for accomplishing many job related tasks; the computer has literally opened a whole new world of employment, entertainment, communication and information gathering.
During the years since the development of the World Wide Web, numerous amounts of people in developing countries have been using Information communication technologies (ICT’s) to bring about change in their work methods and environment in order to enhance their development process. As technology advances, the gap between the information haves and have-not’s is widening. Therefore the digital divide becomes more apparent.
(International conference on information technology and development December 2002)
In order to have a clearer perspective on gender perceptions, it would be useful to look into history to see how society perceives the role of males and females. If we look back into the gender hierarchy roughly during the seventeenth century modern England, men will always be on the top followed by wife, children, and servants. During this time, it was assumed that god and nature instituted this particular arrangement of gender hierarchy. Unmarried virgins and wives had to keep silence while being in public and were very obedient towards their husband and fathers.
It was during this period which traditional ideas about men and women were significantly transformed, and out of which our modern commonplaces and assumptions about gender emerged. It is evident that there is an unbalanced view towards gender roles, and inevitably these norms have developed through common experiences, which emerged in the household and reinforced till this day. Whether it is through family, peer pressure, school, or experiences in the workplace.
Despite the common beliefs till this present day, persistent perceptions of females are by nature technologically ignorant and unable to understand scientific and technological information or gain technical skills.
Research suggests that females think of technology belonging to the male world, and parents purchased technology twice as many times for their sons as their daughters. If we use video/computer games as an example, many young children who come into contact with this piece of technology may grow to become attracted to computers. However many do not enjoy their initial experiences with these playful introductions to technology, and a large number of these are females. (Industrial Design Magazine (1999).
Since it is evident that males prefer interacting with technology in comparison to females, what effect would this have on males and females in terms of choosing computer related subjects during their academic life? Which in the long run may prove to be useful, when applied to specific jobs and towards the unexpected future of work. What is going to happen to the balance of occupations between the two genders? How, if at all, is the sexual division of labour being transformed?
According to The Equal Opportunities Commission, males are still currently dominating in information technology and females tend to choose social sciences, arts, economics and humanities subjects etc, all of which are non-technology related. In 2001 The Equal Opportunities Commission launched a ‘What’s stopping you’ campaign which is aimed for people still in education to overcome the traditional male and female stereotypes, because they believe that such gender divisions will build a boundary in career opportunities in the future.
In the year 2000 it was estimated that 80% of the UK workforce would involve the use of Information Technology, and there has been much concern with regards to the number of females entering IT related courses. However as computers have become more integrated into specific jobs, the use of word processing in retailing, stock control, libraries, design and in travel agents etc, has enabled young people of both genders to make use of them.
(The Human Development Journal (1999)
Information communication technologies (ICT’s) were initially thought to bring positive effects and benefits to all countries and firms that employ it. Also making it available on a gender-neutral basis. It consists of a wide geographical coverage and is efficient in terms of time and cost. However, as with all technologies there will always be criticism based on its utility. It is argued that the use of the Internet revolves around the domination of men. Despite this common assumption, female users of the Internet are catching up rapidly in many developed and developing countries. Access to information means access to power and most societies persist to exclude women from both. Rosemary Pringle in “Secretaries talk” (1989) would support this perspective, she quotes, “That new technologies has enhanced men’s power, if men are represented as the masters of technology, women are its servants. Technology does not empower them but reinforces their powerlessness and dependence on men”. A counter argument from an optimistic feminist view, would suggest that the Internet has opened up opportunities for women to have access to markets, research information and communicate economically. (United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) 2000)
New developments of ICT’s have created opportunities for women to become owners of their own businesses. Usage of these new technologies has also created new employment prospects in terms of networking technologies, which enables a substantial amount of information to be transported from the main office to satellite or subcontracting units. Within the IT sector employment for women has risen in teleworking. These particular jobs are routine and require a low level of skills and limited technical training, such as data entry and processing, call-centres and transcription services etc.
Home-based teleworking can assist women in participation in e-commerce as it allows flexibility in timing and location of work. Especially for those who have small children or live in remote areas can perform their professional work via their computer. However debates have risen, because this particular work is restricted to the home and may deprive them of the status of working women and hold back their professional or business efficiency. Also their contribution to society will inevitably become invisible.
Within organisations that employ ICT’s, there is an unequal balance of power between women and men, as well as to their unequal access to resources. It is vital within technological firms that power and status is priority for the capability in creating or applying new knowledge in the production of goods and services. Employees in some technological or professional roles are perceived to be fundamental to the innovative performance of the company.
Organisations that are constantly adapting to changes due to the competitive environment in which it is operating within, will depend solely on its innovative performance, which will determine its competitive position. Therefore for those leading people who play a big part in this operation will be given authority and status. Many of these comprise of computer scientists, engineers and leading technology experts, many of which are men. An explanation for this is because women lack experience and training in science and technology, which inevitably results in them being underrepresented or unable to reach high status positions within firms which use ICT’s. Male and female graduates bring in this inheritance of power imbalance into the workplace, where they occupy roles and conduct themselves in ways that maintain this reflection. As a result of this, in the workplace, women are often underrepresented and positioned to low status jobs, where as men are represented in positions of authority and high status.
There is also evidence to suggest that many organisations that use ICT’s have rigid organisational cultures, where attitudes and behaviours are considered masculine and are not favourable to those women participating with their male colleagues, or equally possessing the same amount of power. In order for there to be gender equality in the organisation, women will have to empower themselves so they can reach equal participation in major decision-makings. However this will not be a straightforward development process, as it will mean women achieving more control, in effect having the ability to direct and manipulate events. Having control will enable power, to ensure that resources, rewards and opportunities are obtained equally between women and men so both may benefit.
The way in which gender perceptions have been established has indeed been shaped by society, and much responsibility lies within the media. From a young age both genders enjoy watching television and cartoons, which are dominated by male heroes or leading male characters and show little if any female heroic role models. Therefore this psychologically forces females to believe in males being dominant and more powerful.
The gender division is usually greater in countries where women have less access to technology and education to men. Even in those developed countries where women have the opportunity to interact with technology, very few take up IT for education and training, which as a result constructs a wider gender digital divide. Education can be perceived as the foundation to bridge the gap between male and female competencies, however it is difficult to attract women to take up IT for education or training, therefore much effort needs to be made to increase the number of women’s interest in the area of IT so they can pursue careers in the high skilled sector of employment.
We have established that the difference between males and females are socially constructed, changeable over time and have wide variations within and between cultures. Within the workplace, there are distorted assumptions made about women which is still present till this day, people allow their judgements to be affected by stereotypes therefore reflecting an impression of what women are, what they expect and what they can achieve etc.
In order for there to be changes made towards equality in the workplace, substantial alterations must be made within educational environments that support them, people should be encouraged to decide upon all options available. Equality does not imply that males and females becoming the same, but instead their opportunities and life chances will not be dependant on their gender.
