Access, Self-Image, and Empowerment: Computer Training for Women Entrepreneurs in Costa Rica

Abstract

This article highlights a case study of a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica that initiated a pilot program in 2002 to expand information and communication technology to 100 women nationwide through a free computer class. This program was developed in order to increase 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. The article specifically assesses how and in what ways this program altered job experiences for the women 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 offieldwork and includes over 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and two focus groups with 33 respondents. Qualitative methods are used to analyze the individual experiences of the students in the program to better understand the successes and failures of this type of program in the context of development for women in the Third World.