Women, 
Networking has been recognized by female scholars as a tool for women's
empowerment, and women have taken to the Net to create a "cyberspace of their
own." [23] In many places, women writers, editors, news directors and lobbyists,
are not only surfing the Net, but have become active in establishing numerous
sites of special interest to women on the WWW. Women's sites cover subjects
such as gender and sexuality, feminism, women's health, women in computer
science, engineering, women's studies, women in academia and women in
industry.
Research carried out for the UN Division for the Advancement of Women
found that women were initially less present on the electronic networks (less
willing or less motivated to use the technology) than men, and that not
surprisingly, certain circles have developed on the Internet (particularly in
the US, where electronic networking is most developed) that are characterized
by a male-dominated and patriarchal on-line culture which discriminates
against women or treats them negatively. [24] But women face two particular
challenges in their use of computer networks. The first is to master access
tools so they can make the best use of CNTs. The second is to use the new
Internet publishing tools to develop their own publishing and media activities
on the networks as paradigms of gender-sensitive media products. [25]
Any discussion of women and electronic communications cannot ignore the
lessons learned from the experience of women's role and portrayal in the
traditional media, public, and private, and the efforts made to make these
media hospitable to women.
The women's movement has long been critical of mass media, charging that
they are deeply implicated in reinforcing patterns of discrimination against
women in society. An analysis of sex roles and stereotypes indicates that few
reports deal with issues of special concern to women or reflect a gender
perspective. [26]
In relation to CNTs, this is a crucial moment. The rules of the game are
still in formulation. Women, therefore, need to discuss the need for gender-
sensitive information; participate in decision-making on network development
and evolve alternative and gender-sensitive practices. Women need to decide
whether they will create their own closed spaces on the Internet or assert
their presence in mixed spaces. And once again, the answer is, surely, both.
Without this kind of action, we can expect that the new medium will
increasingly be yet another means to perpetuate negative stereotypes, or
another male enclave where women are discriminated against and
marginalized. [27]
Women have increasingly created alternative communications outside the
mainstream media to counteract discrimination and stereotyping. Independent
alternative media controlled by women include print media, video, film, radio
broadcasting and, increasingly, the CNTs. Women have created and used
alternative communication channels to support their efforts, defend their
rights, diffuse their own forms of representation and question dominant models
of mainstream culture. With the advent of the CNTs, women are also finding
ways to use them to support their advocacy efforts. For example, women's
groups in Mexico have found that electronic networking has facilitated their
work in fighting NAFTA. Groups are also appearing that help women gain access
and training. For example, WON, the Women's Online Network, is an on-line
advocacy and action group which is sponsored by various women's groups.
Women are taking new steps and increasingly moving in new
directions by networking electronically ... these days it is not
unusual to see women's networks and organizations making the most
of new information and communication tools to get their message
out and make their voices heard." The Tribune, a women and
development quarterly, International Women's Tribune Centre,
Newsletter 55, September 1996)
The new media are a logical extension of alternative forms of media
previously used by women. They have characteristics similar to those of the
alternative media, and suited to the needs of women's networks because of
their decentralized and horizontal nature. The essential difference from the
mainstream media is their relation to space. The challenge is to maintain the
Internet as an open communication system with democratic access to information
and not as a centrally controlled medium. For women's organizations, this may
mean establishing and defining their own spaces or influencing the character
of on-line culture in favour of gender balance and non-discrimination. [28]
Contents:
Women, the Information Revolution and the
Conclusions
WomenWatch
Notes
Key Terms to Know
Did you Know?
Selected Bookmarks on
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