Women, gender equality, and digital technology

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates the subject of the gender equality and women’s empowerment and their engagement in smart development, with a primary focus on ICT and wearable technologies, such as small-scale intelligent devices and interactive sensor elements. Although a growing body of academic research on the topic is increasing, there is a gap in envisioning how aspects of the wearable technologies can optimally engage with the context of the development field and women’s empowerment in developing countries. The main contributions of this study combine both empirical and conceptual design components to support the design and evaluation of a smart development that enhances gender equality and women’s empowerment in developing countries. The first step towards this study was to con-duct a pilot study that involved five newly arrived African women in the USA. Participants were asked to discuss their experience with the role that current digital technology plays in women’s empowerment and gender equality.