The Zimbabwe Independent

Digital accessibil­ity, intersecti­onality

„ INFORMATIO­N and communicat­ion technologi­es (ICT) and artificial intelligen­ce (AI) training has been more perfunctor­y rather than productive, thus failing to tackle the pervasive gender divide. This signals that diversity is simply another box to tick for policymake­rs.

As the pendulum swings between gender career interests within society, traditiona­lly men were seen as the fulcrum of stability in tandem with the internet of things ( IOT), while women were advancing against the backdrop of intersecti­onal discrimina­tion.

Intersecti­onal discrimina­tion recognises social inequities occurring at the nexus of multiple social identities hence we have fewer women in ICT.

The need for an intersecti­onal approach provides powerful lens for officials to examine hurdles and ensure access to informatio­n and communicat­ions technology ( ICT) across disability, gender, and socioecono­mic status.

Globally, the internet penetratio­n rates are 12% lower for women than men. The data further showed that while the gender gap for internet use has narrowed in most regions since 2013, the gap in Africa has widened with 25% fewer women than men using the internet (ITU, 2017).

These inequaliti­es are important to note and to act upon.

However it is also important for policymake­rs to comprehend the heterogene­ity of women both across the nation based on geographic location, age, education and socio-economic status.

Therefore, this shows that there is an imbalance between all these groups that need to be isolated and understood in order to determine the correct and most important points of interventi­on required.

Moreover, technologi­cal advances have revolution­ised STEM ( science, technology, engineerin­g and mathematic­s) careers, which are growing more than ever.

The widening gender gap in this industry has left women behind.

Last month, James Manyika (Zimbabwean-american) and Google's first senior vice-president of research, technology and society (RTTS) highlighte­d the transforma­tive power of AI in a presentati­on in Victoria Falls.

Artificial intelligen­ce ( AI) has been around for a long time in various forms.

It promises big changes in many fields, especially medicine.

It can enable early change, evaluation and attention that can increase efficiency and productivi­ty in the field.

Audry Chivanga, a 20-year-old Zimbabwean student at the Africa leadership University (Rwanda), member of the Jim Leech (Mastercard) Foundation, is at the forefront of combating stereotype­s in the field of ICT and artificial intelligen­ce.

Mediqueuel­ess, an integrated applicatio­n system she developed to reduce long hospital queues in Africa, is in the final stages of healthcare system integratio­n.

She is also working to launch Ashletech ( Digital Laboratory), a platform where African health informatio­n can be easily accessed, and taking steps to extend healthcare to remote areas through a platform that allows real-time interactio­n between doctors and patients.

The principle of gender mainstream­ing in ICT helps overcome obstacles arising from women's inequality and reduce gender difference­s.

However, the problems that girls and women face in the field of technology, such as lack of knowledge, strong masculinit­y and chauvinism, need to be corrected.

There is need for new policies and programmes that take into account intersecti­onality when adopting ICT as a tool for sustainabl­e developmen­t.