Women’s autonomy in the new Digital Paradigm: challenges for gender equality in Latin America

Abstract

Many countries in Latin America have experienced a quick economic growth over the lastdecade, unemployment and poverty reduction and positive results in terms of equity. Inrecent years, the international crisis resulted in the loss of that economic dynamism. Theregion is currently at a crossroads. Retake the path of sustainable growth with greater equalityrequires structural change policies. The driving force of this transformation is the innovation.At the heart of this process is the diffusion of ICT and the digital paradigm. The region hasmade great progress in recent years in the deployment and access to ICT, surpassing itsinitial delay. Now a new breach emerges, associated with the limited regional capacitiesof appropriation and use of these technologies. In this second digital gap, women are atdisadvantage compared to men, because they make a more restricted use and generallyperform activities that require less technological capacity. Hence, the need of public policiesthat conduct to greater and better participation of women in the information society, whichcan bring a wide range of benefits to society as a whole. Increase the number of womentrained in the area of ICT and their greater participation as central actors in the ICT industrycan contribute to the creativity, skills and competitiveness in technology sectors.