Looking behind the internet: Empowering Women for Public Policy Advocacy in Central America

The authors have found that information and communications technologies (ICTs) in Central American public institutions and policies are not focused on promoting gender equity or on increasing opportunities for women. Instead, "e-government" initiatives focus primarily on modernising government administration and service provision, and promoting e-commerce. Research in Costa Rica and Nicaragua shows that the dominant approach to gender and ICTs mirrors the approach to e-government in which women are viewed as individual recipients and users rather than organised actors