A keyword found in most eulogies on e-governance is “equity”. As the magic of technology begin to unfold itself before the dazzled eyes of many policy makers, hitherto seemingly insurmountable problems like gender and social discrimination seems just a click away to oblivion. And for good reasons. Technological innovations have shown that historical and structural anomalies can be tackled in real time. The stupendous success of Grameen Phone in Bangladesh has shown a skeptical world how access to simple technologies could radically correct social imbalances and help the disadvantaged (in this case poor rural women) to chart new trajectories in their economic and social lives. However, a quick review of the policy frameworks and operational realities in India reveal that gender remains outside the core concerns of a highly techno-deterministic development paradigm. An interesting place to locate our arguments is the much celebrated National E Governance Plan (NeGP). Here’s a verbatim reproduction of NeGP’s vision: “Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.”

Okay! I maybe nitpicking un-necessarily on innocuous semantics. But then, I tried to locate any module that addresses gender concerns in the entire framework. Till now my search has been futile. Despite the shrill protests of feminist friends at various fora there seems to be no response from the state in terms of acknowledging (leave alone addressing!) the existence of many non-technical divides that create highly disabling disparities in an increasingly “connected” society.

Though there is no denying the fact that ICTs can have profound implications for women in terms of employment, education, health and livelihood, the exclusive nature of current ICT-driven development paradigms in many ways negates the emergent possibilities. Viewed through a historical lens, women were always disadvantaged relative to men in terms of their access to and ownership of modern technology. They had less income, little or no spare time, lacked mobility and faced innumerable religious and cultural sanctions and taboos to effectively appropriate new technologies. In the domain of ICTs and the discourses on the knowledge society, a gender gap is perceived to exist for three basic reasons: (a) women are rarely consulted or involved in any need assessment of ICT-led initiatives; (b) there exist a strongly entrenched attitude that technological choices are not comprehensible for women with the result that most often than not, they are treated as passive recipients than active promoters or producers of information and; (c) the issue of locating access points like kiosks is still largely unaddressed; an astounding case in point is the location of a kiosk inside a temple in a celebrated case from south India!

All these point to a need to have an engendered ICT policy framework which would provide an affirmative direction to include gender concerns and realities in the wider sweep of e-governance projects. Affirmative policy and regulatory frameworks need to be in place to address certain specific “barriers”: (i) Social Exclusion – Unequal access to ICTs has created a new e-elite and an e-underclass. Not surprisingly, women (especially the poor) seem to have fallen through the “Net”. Given the ubiquitous presence of Computers at the cutting-edges of most e-governance projects, low levels of literacy certainly prevent many poor women from reaping the benefits; (ii) Domestication – A good number of social psychological research into how people accept technologies shows that innovations that cannot be contextualized into personal everyday routines are unlikely to be used. Remember the unforgettable picture of a beaming 106-year old Rosakutty from Kerala as she took to computers to email her near ones?; (iii) Deficit of Trust – Seldom can a brand new technology driven process erase years of poor expectancy from an apathetic state. Where disempowered women are already engaged in a conflictory and contentious relationship with the state, it is highly unlikely that an electronic version will immediately bring in a new turnaround and; (iv) Transaction Costs - The switchover from any established mode of transacting with the state to a new form often encounters strong initial barriers like reluctance to deal with unfamiliarity, costs of finding new information, and possibly frustration costs in learning new methods.

• Technology should aid and empower existing rooted structures that articulate and represent genuine concerns, aspirations and priorities of women.

  Selective use of the technological medium that relates to local ethos and sensibilities brings in rich dividends. One of the dominant myths of e-governance is the unquestioned primacy of computers (and Internet). Radio and video that capture local content are far more effective transmitters of knowledge and shared experiences than the text-heavy and literacy-dependent internet. Multiple channels need to be identified and used for effective targeting of local users.

  Encourage local content production and gender sensitive pedagogies. There is a visible paucity of gender-related content for the digital media. Learner-centered knowledge, collaborative form of production and use of diverse media helps in the production and dissemination of relevant content.

  Perhaps, the greatest lesson is the need to balance information rights with communication rights. Many ICT-led initiatives treat communities (especially the disadvantaged) as passive recipients of information. Seldom, do they transcend this narrow band and explore and encourage more participatory forms of engagement that can be facilitated by the new media.

It’s time that regulatory and policy frameworks transcend conventional technology imperatives and look into gender specific realities and challenges.