Globalization, ICTs, and Economic Empowerment: A Feminist Critique

Abstract

The article evaluates the problematic of ICTs-led globalization from the perspectives of women of poorer countries. It does so by documenting the opportunities and challenges that women of the developing world encounter in the global digital economy, either as traders on the Net or as employees in the ICTs-enabled sectors. It assesses the impact of networking technologies on women’s working lives as in call centers or in teleworking. The discourse of economic empowerment with the use of ICTs, of traditionally disadvantaged groups such as women, is the theme of the article. The article, hence, refers to the growing anxieties, as expressed in anti-globalization movements and in the writings of a number of eminent non-European scholars. The roots of such anxieties, particularly in the South, lie in the hegemony of the North, both in technologies and in trade. The article reflects, in this context, on the visions and concerns of women of the developing world regarding ICTs and digital trade in communities that often lack basics such as electricity and clean water. The article finally makes a case for including women ’s groups in policy dialogues for assessing the significance of ICTs-led globalization in the developing world. The silencing of voices poses a threat to peace, stability, and sustainability in development.