Intel has announced a national campaign to acquire partners to drive its She Will Connect programme further into South Africa.Currently the partners consist of Siyafunda, SAWEN, World Vision and SchoolNet. UNESCO will coming on board in line with its global memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Intel’s She Will Connect programme aims to reduce the Internet gender gap around the globe. According to the Women and the Web report, which examined women’s access to and use of the Internet in low and middle income countries, almost 25% fewer women than men are online in developing countries on average.
Within sub-Saharan Africa, the size of the gap is nearly 45%, which is the largest across all the regions that this study investigated.
“At Intel we believe education is a fundamental right for everyone and technology opens doors to opportunity,” says Thabani Khupe, corporate affairs director for Intel South Africa.
“Through the Intel Global Girls and Women Initiative, we are working to empower millions of girls and women around the world by closing the gender gap in education access, inspiring more girls and women to become creators of technology, and connecting girls and women to opportunity through technology access. Educating girls and closing the Internet gender gap also has an important multiplier effect – expanding opportunities for families, communities and nations.
“As affordability, lack of awareness of the benefits of getting connected, and lack of familiarity with technology are amongst the key barriers to access identified in the report, Intel will be reducing this gap through an innovative combination of digital literacy training, an online peer network, and gender-relevant content,” explains Khupe.
Advantages of the campaign include:
* Digital literacy skills – help improve digital literacy skills by integrating digital literacy training into gender and development programs in shared computing environments using an engaging interactive learning platform where women can access hardware, software, Internet connectivity, and on-going support.
* Online peer network – improve access and relevance of the Internet through women-tailored content and a peer network. Through this network, girls and women can find content that is safe and relevant to them, and can also exchange ideas, find support and mentorship.
* Content and resources – connect participants will receive access to gender-relevant content and resources that will be provided by program partners and other organisations.
By expanding their understanding and use of technology, young women will be able to access health, government, and educational information, economic opportunities, and gender-specific resources.
Consequently, they will be able to receive a better education, enhance their political participation, gain a stronger voice in their communities, and increase their income by connecting to new economic opportunities.
The last point is particularly pertinent as the report states that bringing more women online hold the potential to contribute an estimated $13-18 billion to the annual GDP across 144 developing countries.