Jamie Cistoldi Lee
ASA Submission
Empowerment, Access, and Rights:
The experiences of women participants in a
computer-integrated development program in Costa Rica
ABSTRACT
Amidst the dilemmas, controversies, and challenges associated with incorporating computer
technology in developing countries, many studies suggest that information and communication
technology (ICT) offers a creative solution to persistent structural and social problems such as illiteracy,
poverty, and unemployment (Wagner, 2001). ICTs are tools that may be used to further individual or
collective entrepreneurial endeavors. With the expansion of ICTs, women, in particular, are attempting to
capitalize on these technologies to strengthen their individual position in the public and private spheres.
The widespread incorporation of ICTs may have positive or benign affects on its participants, or may not
be useful at all if applied without an understanding of the underlying structural problems of the
community. Concomitantly, ICTs may pose a threat to women by perpetuating or deepening gender
biases and the sexual division of labor.
My study is a case-study example of a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica that initiated
a pilot program in 2002 by expanding information and communication technology to one-hundred women
nationwide through a free computer class. This program was initiated with an effort to expand women’s
access to and control over technology. It is important to analyze the success of this and other programs
from the perspective of the participants and to understand how such programs change behaviors in the
public and private sphere, on the micro and macro levels. My paper specifically assesses how and in what
ways this program, entrenched within development and modernization ideology, altered job experiences
for the female participants, modified their role within the family, reformulated the individual’s
perspective of self, and empowered the students. The data was collected over several months of fieldwork
and includes over twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews and two focus groups representing a total
of thirty-three respondents. In this paper, I will use qualitative methods to analyze the individual
experiences of the students in the programs to better understand the successes and failures of such
development schemes for women in the developing world.
INTRODUCTION
The digital divide is perhaps most apparent on a global scale since most developed countries rely
on computers and telecommunications, while most developing countries are excluded from the potential
benefits of technology. Many development schemes, such as those generated or supported by the World
Bank, have identified this inequity. Some organizations have focused their efforts on implementing
information and communication technology programs in developing countries. The World Bank, for
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Convention