Telecentres Use in Rural Communities and Women Empowerment: Case of Western Cape

Abstract

Women are still facing exclusion in the use of telecentres, largely because of cultural perceptions that they are responsible for the home; telecentres are also widely perceived appropriate for men to find employment. This paper presents an analysis of the benefits women derive from using telecentres. This study explores how telecentres empower women in the rural communities by analysing three telecentres in the rural setting of Western Cape, South Africa. A qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews was used to gather indepth details on individual empowerment of the rural women. The results obtained show that some rural women used the telecentres to enhance economic standards, which resulted in individual empowerment in social, psychological, information and economic dimensions. This study highlights the potential of telecentres in empowering women and proposes that the government and NGOs consider the telecentre as a means of addressing gender digital divide issues.

Understanding the role of ICT and study circles in enabling economic opportunities: Lessons learned from an educational project in Kenya

“…As mentioned in the introduction, the most common form of informal adult education in ICT4D relates to the use of telecentres. Training in telecentres is found to be beneficial in improving individuals' chances of getting employment, improving business practices, and so on (see, eg, Mat Aji et al, ; Alao et al, ). However, such training is pre‐determined and often limited to computer training.…”

“…Another benefit relates to the training of women. A gender‐bias computer culture and the women's role in the families may result in women being reluctant to attend computer training (Alao et al, ; Kleine, ). Study circles are inclusive community groups started by the members themselves, and the members are comfortable in discussing most topics even in gender‐mixed groups.…”

“…In ICT4D, a common approach for enabling economic opportunities is the use of informal education in, for example, telecentres, which can provide an underserved population with access to ICT and community-based training (Mat Aji, Affendi, Affendi, Sheik Osman, & Yusop, 2010). For example, women who attended computer training in telecentres were able to apply for jobs in their own or neighbouring communities and may use the telecentres to improve their businesses (Alao, Lwoga, & Chigona, 2017). There is also a need for skill training, where telecentres play a role in providing training for individuals, which will increase their employability (Bailey, 2009).…”

Digital social innovation: An overview and research framework

“…Resilience framework (Heeks & Ospina, 2019;Tim et al, 2021) Empowerment (Alao et al, 2017;Bailur et al, 2018;Pandey & Zheng, 2020) Does long-term engagement transform local institutions? If so, how?…”

Critical realism and ICT4D research

“…One thread of this critique can be seen as coalescing around an alternative paradigm: interpretivism, which takes “the view that ‘reality’ is not objective and exterior, but is socially constructed and given meaning by people in their daily interactions with others … [it] focuses on the ways that people make sense of the world especially through sharing their experiences with others via the medium of language.” (Easterby‐Smith et al, , p. 52). As an ICT4D example, Alao, Lwoga, and Chigona () use an interpretive approach to understand how telecentre use impacts empowerment of women in South Africa. They assume that empowerment is a subjective phenomenon, understood through the meaning that individual women ascribe to it.…”