We mention below briefly a round-up of important issues in this area and the WSIS draft proposals about them. The brief is only suggestive and meant to kick-off effective consultations. Speakers are free to, rather expected to, bring their full expertise to bear upon the subject and inform and educate the participant and the stakeholders involved in building the Information Society. 

Governments are by far the biggest agency for social-re-engineering in developing countries towards achievement of various goals of social equality. They have numerous services for its citizens designed for this purpose and a number of specific programs. It is fine to have all these services, and the most ambitious and pious plans and programs, but the issue of effective reach to target groups is more important. Between provision of services as well as design and support for intervention programs on one hand and the effective reach to the intended beneficiaries on the other, there is little dispute that it is in the latter area that we find a much greater deficiency today.

It is first of all difficult to know about government services and schemes, it is more difficult to access the right office and official to avail them and it is still more difficult to get the officials to give service in a forthright manner. That is the story for many a citizen in interacting with his government.

 Excluded groups like women are more in need of government services and interventions; indeed governments plan specific services and schemes for them. But paradoxically, the excluded groups find it even more difficult to reach and connect with the government. It is not easy for women to make multiple trips to far off offices, chase officials, humor them and the rest. When women have to depend on men to get over the intricacies and difficulties for getting these services, it does no good to gender equations.

Does e-governance hold an answer? Getting all government information at home/village, applying for service/intervention with minimum effort and probably getting the service/help as easily too. And all this while, service parameters are available online to senior officials and so the executing hands are under pressure to perform. The reverse flow of data from community will also help in developing better targeted services/programs and getting early feedback. Women could avail the services as easily as men. And access to government services is empowering.  

But of course the important questions of techno-social access, capacity, content and workable systems open up here. As government machinery is re-designed over e-platforms, it is opportune time to include greater gender sensitivity at every level of process and content of governance, including processes of reach and interface. All stakeholders must pitch in now to ensure that effective policy and implementation is taken up in these areas. 

Women have to be seen more than as mere beneficiaries. Women are to be accepted as participants in the development process; they are the best agents and vectors for community development. If we have to construct a developmental machinery using the new ICTs, the role of governments is going to be primary in this process. Indeed, the draft Plan of Action (POA) for the WSIS at point 3 (e) encourages governments to become ‘model users of new technologies and ICTs to improve the quality and delivery of government services’.

Perhaps the most important component of this developmental machinery will be the point of interface - the e-services kiosk or telecenter in the community. In most telecenter initiatives, especially in India, revenue from providing e-governance services has been a major plank for sustainability. The person managing the e-services kiosk has an important role in mediating the services. In case of e-governance services she can become effectively the government agent in the community. It will be very fruitful to have many women acting as these government agents. The services can be better accessed by many excluded sections and developmental interventions can be more effective when mediated through these women.      

E-governance also includes re-organizing government’s internal work structure for greater efficiency and effectiveness. It can mean more productive use of resources, and therefore greater impact, including on welfare of women, using the same resources. Governments are the biggest employers in our countries. Wide spread use of the new technologies at workplace have important gender implications. It can promote government job opportunities for women in many ways; easier on-job skill enhancement training, continued education, e-networking, tele-working etc. Point 36 of POA stresses the need for use of the new ICTs for promoting ‘new ways of organizing work... for well being’ and promoting ‘tele-working …to increase job opportunities for women’. Governments should take the lead to be the model employers. More women in government also mean a more gender sensitive governance.      

The present consultations may like to deliberate on the above issues.

E-governance for improving reach to women

E-governance re-engineering – opportunity to gender-sensitize governance

Women as e-government agents in the community

Women and new ICTs at workplace – government as a model employer