Publication

Mapping research on gender and digital technology

Posted Tue 3 Jul 2018 - 08:04 | 3,242 views

The emerging sub-field of research around gender and digital technology is united in its understanding that gender biases and stereotypes are embedded in technology, and that this reproduces the existing problems around gender parity, gender-based violence, discrimination and exclusion on the internet. This report is a mapping of the research around gender and digital technology in the decade…

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (5): How do we address the gender question?

Posted Thu 17 Aug 2017 - 03:59 | 6,134 views
In this last column by Chenai Chair following the gender implications of the research by Research ICT Africa on access, she explores how researchers and activists can proactively explore gender dimensions. Even as ITU figures point to a progressively increasing gender digital divide, there are steps to take to understand and address this divide.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and beyond (4): Gendered barriers to internet use

Posted Fri 14 Jul 2017 - 03:53 | 6,959 views
Gendered barriers to internet access can range from social and cultural barriers imposed within family or by partners to extraneous factors relevant to all - such as affordability of data and devices. In this column Chenai Chair examines the specificity of how access is different for women and men.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (3): Navigating mobile costs in communication

Posted Thu 15 Jun 2017 - 11:38 | 6,762 views
Africa is flooded with zero rating services such as Free Basics (Facebook’s zero rating scheme) and other subsidised data strategies. Do these schemes make internet more affordable and bring access to more people? In this column Chenai Chair examines whether ordinary people perceive such schemes as useful.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (2): Motivations for internet use

Posted Thu 11 May 2017 - 03:32 | 6,856 views
In this column, Chenai Chair explores motivations of internet use through the ResearchICT Africa study in Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Business, local and global communication, social ties, and curiosity seem to be the main motivators. By understanding why people go online, we can better shape interventions for a connected society.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and beyond (1): Navigating the gendered cyberspace

Posted Wed 12 Apr 2017 - 05:18 | 5,917 views

In this column series, Chenai Chair explores the barriers to accessing the internet in four countries in Africa - Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. The study in particular looks at the impact of affordability of internet and subsidised data services, and what impact this has on people in different locations (countries, urban-rural), of different genders, and so on. In the first column,…

Publication

Internet use barriers and user strategies: perspectives from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Rwanda

Posted Tue 28 Mar 2017 - 08:27 | 7,087 views
The introduction of OTT services that replace regular messaging applications in built into a phone, definitely has an impact on internet use. OTT services have become the main entry point to the Internet for most users in the prepaid mobile environment that characterises most African markets. This comparative country study, based on focus groups conducted in November 2016 in Kenya, Nigeria,…