Prepared by; Marco, Adam
Advanced Diploma in Information Technology (Year three)
Tel: (+255) 741 406155
E-mail: adamarco@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on women in Information Technology (IT) education in Africa. There is a need for more women in the IT industry. More women are needed to help solving business problems with information technology solutions.

The majority of African women are involved in the informal economy. They often do not enjoy equal opportunities with men. The attitudes towards women, by both men and women themselves, have often suppressed the development or advancement of women. The existing social and cultural norms have so far restricted girls' and women's access to education, training and employment.

The purpose of Information Technology in the workforce is to solve problems, to assist people in their tasks and for use as tools to help them conduct their business better, faster, and cheaper. IT is a problem solving opportunity for both men and women.

This article emphasises on building relationships, seeing different connection between women and information technology and African education system from primary, tertiary to high learning institution.

1. INTRODUCTION

The central question of this article concerns African women's entering information technology education. This includes issues of women preparation to be IT professionals, problems to build IT professionals, and what should be done to support women in information technology education.

The previous years showed that the rate for African women entering tertiary education or joining technical programs is low (only 28 per cent in 1983, by World Bank), so very few women were joining technical programs. It expected that, proportion of women in the IT field as users or professionals to be low. Women are badly under represented in IT education and management jobs in Africa.
It found that more female programmers and operators in a number of countries; both in public and private sectors, but there are very few indigenous female lecturers or teachers in computer-related courses. Until 1994, only two of the staff of ten at the Computer Science department of the University of Zimbabwe were women both expatriate (Schware, 1994).
The study is organized into three sections. The first two headings look at the situation of African women builds IT professionals and strategies for overcoming those barriers. The second section looks what should be done to support women in information technology education. The final section contains guidelines and recommendations for future projects to facilitate women's participation in the information technology education.

Information Technology skills are in high demand, yet most young women are choosing not to study computing during their high school and post-secondary educational careers. The numbers of women working in IT are just low, but now they are increasing. Because many girls have a misperception about Information Technology (IT) careers.

The low representation of women in information technology at the undergraduate level is inherited from the secondary school level, where girls do not participate in computer science courses and related activities as much as boys. Girls tend to be well represented in early computing courses but take advanced courses in far lesser numbers than boys do. One reason cited as to why girls and young women are not attracted to, or move away from IT? Is because of the focus on the technical and mathematical course requirements

What must be done to ensure that women are not closing doors to be IT professionals?

?The societies must ensure that they have opportunities to find out what IT
careers offer as far making an impact on society

?It must be that girls are taking enough maths, sciences, and
computing courses while they are in primary and secondary education. By completing these courses, young women are able to enter college and university programs to prepare for technology careers

?It must be needed to bring them together with successful female role models in the information technology industry.

Girls must be encouraged to consider information technology careers. First, it's important that information technology be implemented in ways that meet the needs of society as a whole. Think of technologies such as air bags that were initially developed to meet the needs of the average male, instead of society as a whole. One way of meeting those needs is to a variety of viewpoints represented in the design and implementation of technologies.
Second, businesses will not be able to sustain competitiveness if half of the population is closing the door to IT careers needlessly. The Software Human Resource Council (Africa-1998) reports that just less than 25% of the IT workforce is female. Third, IT careers offer a great deal of benefits to those to enter the field.

3. PROBLEMS FACING WOMEN IN BUILDING IT PROFESSIONALS

3.1 Social and cultural attitudes
Women do not enjoy equal opportunities with men. The attitudes toward women, by both men and women themselves, have often suppressed the development or advancement of women. The existing social and cultural norms have so far restricted girls' and women's access to education, training and employment.
3.2 Poor foundation in mathematics and science subjects
Poor grounding in mathematics and science subjects at primary level, and the lack of exposure to technically oriented subjects, limit their performance in these subjects at secondary school and their access to technical programs at the tertiary level.
3.3 Stereotype
Women faces problems in their leaving environment, parents and teachers stereotyped attitudes (especially towards working mothers) regarding women's abilities and competence in technical fields mean that few women are joining the field. Silent discrimination and stereotyping also exists in many organizations, with the result that even women already in employment are not always given the opportunity to prove their worth (Leigh-Doyle, 1991). Sex stereotyping on the part of that certain jobs is exclusively for men.
3.4 Lack of confidence
Parents, educators, religion, the media and society at large must encourage and impress women joining IT training. Women's own lack of confidence also influences their entry into certain fields and jobs. Often, it is not the technology which is a problem but the economic, social and political structures which keep women in low education consideration whatever the level of technology.
3.5 Duties and responsibilities at home
Women's 'double shift', at home and at school, this affects their education progress. In Africa, the home shift may in many cases include caring for parents, in-laws younger and domestic activities. In addition, women often have to work twice as hard to prove to men that they are also capable of doing their field well. The role of a woman is often taken for granted.
The demands on working women and their burdens have in fact increased. So it should not be surprising if women were not taking up IT field, although IT may offer opportunities for skilled women.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO SUPPORT WOMEN IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

Information technology has a role to play in the process of women empowerment. IT, especially empowers women to have a better say in the family space as well as in the national and global communities. IT is merging as a powerful tool of empowerment.
In assessing and promoting women entering IT education in Africa, it is important to understand the gendered nature of the social, economic, policy and technology systems which frame opportunities for women from primary education to professionals. These include social attitudes and government policies and strategies.

• 
  It must be looked for the following in order to support women in information technology education.
• 
  It must be highly valued, and more investment is made to girls in their education
• 
  African women must change traditional attitudes, and for women to recognise
  within themselves the capability of transcending the limits socially ascribed to them
• 
  Those who continue in schools must not follow traditional or social accept streams for women who are non-scientific and non-technological, since science, technology and mathematics are generally considered incompatible with their reproductive and domestic sphere of their responsibilities and therefore inappropriate for women.
• 
  The representation of women's concerns in national, regional and international policy must be high in Africa. Women are poorly represented in policy making bodies at all levels and in most sectors of African society
• 
  The government and profounder must consider gender implications of IT for both
  men and women in education and training, mean that women need encouragement
  and support to take their place in the information revolution.
• The introduction of computers into schools/institutes and improved the quality of
  worklife for women in education and administrative occupations.
• The cost of internet access at all levels must be accessible for the majority of the
  African women population, especially in learning institution.
• Computers accessories must be imported from industrialised countries with
  accompanying increases in transportation and duties as well as advantageous
  exchange rates and low import tax.
• Others must be access to training, technical information, computer parts and repair,
  low rates of technological obsolescence and human skills.
• As well, language is a barrier, especially in most African countries, since most
  training packages, software, and electronic conferences and journals are in English.
  So emphasis and practice in English language must be done
  

5. CONCLUSION

It must be ensured that an attitude toward women in Information Technology industry is changed. The problems with under-utilization of present capacity, lack of computer literacy and of education and training facilities have been limited for women, but men may be given priority for admission in the belief that they are more likely to use their qualifications. Computing and Information Technology is still seen as a man's job in Africa, like many other professions.
Therefore, there must be needed more education and training opportunities for girls and women in Africa, both for overall national development and to improve their quality of life. A major program would be needed to make policy makers, parents, educators, employers, and others to be aware of the importance of girls and women's education. Women's general literacy rate and scientific and technological knowledge have to be addressed before anything can be done about their computer literacy. However it would be a tactical error to introduce programs only for women. Women should be able to participate actively in such programs, without treating them as a segregate population.
There must be a challenge for African nations to formulate national strategies specifically to meet political, social, economic and cultural environment exist in different countries. Government must ensure that women are not left behind or go in wrong side in Information Technology industry. The strategies should focus on.

? Increasing women's participation in advanced Information Technology training and education programmes; National and international training for promoting women's participation in a wide range of IT program.

? Specifically tailored IT applications and services to support women's in education activities.
? Strategies to support women's education in IT field: Support to women's entrepreneurial, technical and managerial activities in the IT sector
? Road map for women's education and training IT sector
Information technology is for everybody, offering new professionals a wide variety of areas in which to apply their technology skills - art, government, science, agriculture, banking, healthcare, education, manufacturing, sports, tourism, gambling, financial services, etc. In all these areas of our lives, women are in the best position to develop a total picture of its likely effects.

REFERENCES

Alloo, Fatma (1988), "Women and Popular Media", paper presented at the Women's Visions and Movements Conference, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 27-29 September 1998
"Keeping the Doors Open to women"; by Karen Lopez, 16 May 2002
"Supporting Women's Use of Information Technologies for Sustainable Development" (by Sophia Huyer, 18 February 1997)
Davidson M. J ("Women and Information Technology, psychology and productivity")

Deakin R. ("Women and Computing; Golden opportunity")

Internet source; "www.unu.edu"