Connecting or dividing? Examining female learners’ information and communication technology access and use in open and distance learning

Abstract

The role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in addressing global development agenda, including the key Millennium Development Goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women, is being increasingly recognised. ICTs, by themselves, however cannot be effective if they do not address the central issue of women’s access and control over technology, which relates to the opportunity available to them to use the resources in their own contexts. This paper examines the use of, attitudes towards and barriers to ICT access amongst female learners in a Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Computer Application offered through distance mode by Indira Gandhi National Open University. The paper highlights the local contexts within which attitudes towards the use of technology are shaped and barriers to access are embedded. Finally, based on the discussion, the paper points to the need for ICT‐enabled learning to be cognisant of the above aspects and suggests interventions to increase female participation in open and distance learning to enable the move towards gender equality.

Keywords:

• access
• gender
• socio‐economic factors
• study centres
• programme study centres
• peer learning