African women, technology, and ICTs

Abstract

Technology has a lot to offer women in both their public and private lives. In view of this, the Strategic Development Goal (SDG) 5b seeks to utilize enabling technology, particularly information and communications technology, for the empowerment of women. Through a desk review, this chapter looked at the position of African women in the development, deployment, and utilization of technology in the broad sense with special focus on information and communication technology. Factors that inhibit women's full utilization of technology and some policy directives have also been enumerated in the chapter. Various interventions in the area of women and technologies have yielded results. African women are not only users of technology, but they are breaking through as developers in the technology space as well. In spite of infrastructural and socioeconomic challenges, women in Africa are capable of harnessing the full potential of technology to improve their lives. They should therefore be perceived as such and be supported accordingly.