E-government for women s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific. - Presentation of key findings. Oct 4, 2016

Transcription

1 E-government for women s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific - Presentation of key findings Oct 4, 2016

2 Background Builds on a previous study by UNPOG that sought to examine egovernment readiness for gender equality. Study identified four key areas in which e-government could make a difference for women: access to ICTs, information literacy, effective service delivery, and participation in the online public sphere. Main finding was that e-government provisions for women still remain an emerging policy issue in the Asia-Pacific.

3 Background (contd.) ESCAP research was launched in 2015 to fill this gap in understanding what do policymakers need to do in order to bring gender perspectives into e-government? Gendering e-government involves thinking gender by design - Designing specific strategies for women s inclusion in digitally mediated state-citizen interactions - Dealing with exclusions caused through digital-by-default systems

4 What is E-government? The use of ICT and its application by the government for the provision of information and public services to the people (UN Global E-government Readiness Report 2004). E-government can be referred to as the use and application of information technologies in public administration to streamline and integrate workflows and processes, to effectively manage data and information, enhance public service delivery, as well as expand communication channels for engagement and empowerment of people (UN E-government Survey 2014)

5 E-government and E-governance Terms often used interchangeably, but there are some differences. - E-government is a paradigm of public administration in digital times. - E-governance is a much broader concept that focuses on the shifts in the way citizens relate to the state and to each other. As public administration moves from legacy systems into digital platforms, addressing both demand and supply side issues becomes imperative. E-government in this context is about systemic processes - digital and otherwise- which are implemented by governments, to reach public information and services to citizens.

6 E-government components UN E-government Development Index includes sub-indices on online services, telecommunication infrastructure and human capital. To get closer to the idea of state-citizen relationship one will need to also account for e-participation supplementary subindex that includes e-information, e-consultation and e-decision making. Starting point of the research therefore is this comprehensive definition of e-government the 3 components of service delivery, citizen uptake and connectivity architecture.

7 A framework on gender and e-government Is e-government making a difference to gender equality? This will call for evaluating the critical constituents of egovernment systems - service delivery - citizen uptake - connectivity architecture on their ability to deliver good governance efficiency, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, responsiveness that works for women and improve women s status.

8 Institutional ecosystem analysis Analytical framework 1. How are emerging norms impacting women's empowerment and gender equality? 2. How do new rules legitimizing the structures and procedures of e-government impact women's empowerment and gender equality? 3. How do everyday practices and cultures of e-government impact women's empowerment and gender equality?

9 E-government ecosystem matrix Institutional dimensions Norms Rules Practices

10 E-government ecosystem matrix E-government components Service Delivery Citizen Uptake Connectivity Architecture

11 E-government ecosystem matrix Components Dimensions Norms Rules Practices Service Delivery Citizen Uptake Connectivity Architecture

12 Service delivery Service Delivery Norms - Approach to gender mainstreaming and women-focused services. - Governance of new partnerships and boundary spanning - Convergence in service delivery Rules - Transparency in work flows and predictability - Data security and privacy Practices - New forms of human mediation (room for local flexibility to address gender justice concerns) - Equity considerations in service delivery at the last-mile

13 Citizen uptake Citizen uptake Norms - Proactive outreach to ensure women s engagement in eparticipation platforms - Design choices that are responsive to affordability and accessibility considerations Rules - Gender lens in Open Data policy and programming and freedom of information legislation (including proactive disclosure) - Policies on technical openness to prevent vendor lock-ins Practices - Mediation of online citizen engagement platforms to create safe spaces for women - Digital literacy programmes specifically geared at enhancing women s active citizenship

14 Connectivity Connectivity Architecture Norms - Gender lens in connectivity and broadband policy frameworks Rules - Gender-responsiveness in the implementation of public access programmes Practices - Use of multiple ICT platforms for gender-inclusive citizen outreach (such as mobile platforms to reach out to non-literate women, last-mile citizen facilitation centres that mix online and offline information strategies etc.)

15 Scope of the study Australia, India, Fiji, Philippines, South Korea (subsequently extended to Malaysia and Sri Lanka) Country overview in each site, focusing on historical trajectory of the evolution of e-government from a gender perspective and a state-of-art mapping of gender-inclusiveness of service delivery, citizen uptake and connectivity architecture 2 to 3 case studies on good practices in each country: - initiatives with a clear vision/mandate for women s empowerment - initiatives which use gender mainstreaming - initiatives covering a large proportion of women beneficiaries

16 Country case studies Australia Our Watch Uses a combination of traditional and social media outreach, and community events, to create an alternative discourse on gender and sexuality and break the silence on domestic violence. SA Community A public information directory created through community crowd-sourcing, linked to public libraries. Main constituency for this service: older women.

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18 Country case studies (contd.) Fiji mwomen Subscription-based SMS service on women s legal rights, especially in the context of GBV. Run in partnership with Vodafone. Fiji Government Telecentre Initiative Telecentres that focus on facilitating free access to IT services for rural and remote populations, especially those living in marginalised areas.

19 Country case studies (contd.) India SreeSakthi Portal Safe spaces for women s collectives to build solidarities and forge a political community. IVR based reporting system on GBV, Society for the Elimination of Rural Poverty Reporting system that helps women community volunteers track GBV cases effectively.

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21 Country case studies (contd.) Philippines Blended Learning programme Using ICT possibilities for hybrid learning for enskilling of women to open up new opportunities for employment and enterprise Grievance Redress System of CCT programme Reporting system that helps women community volunteers get grievances pertaining to conditional cash transfers solved on time. Community ecentres Telecentres that provide access to public information, alternative learning systems and digital skills for women.

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23 Country case studies Republic of Korea Cyber-mentoring Portal Web-based service to help women in the early stages of their careers find mentors Sex Offender Alert An alert service that notifies members of the public when convicted sex offenders move into their neighbourhoods on mobiles and internet. Delicate balance between public safety considerations with offenders right to privacy. Safe Return Home Safety that uses spatial GIS data created and put out in the public domain by the government.

24 Sex Offender Alert Sexoffender.go.kr

25 Malaysia ekasih Country case studies Integrated national databank for poverty alleviation that includes women through a gender-sensitive data taxonomy

26 Country case studies Sri Lanka Mobile learning for Financial literacy programme targeted at women farmers rural women farmers that innovatively uses mobile IVR. Connectivity costs subsidised as part of a partnership between a state open university, the public telecom provider and a nongovernmental organisation

27 Findings the basic building blocks of genderresponsive e-government Dedicated resources/budget for women in service delivery, citizen participation and connectivity (Philippines and Republic of Korea) Robust legal and institutional scaffolding for the gender equality agenda (Magna Carta for Women 2009 in the Philippines that institutionalised gender mainstreaming)

28 Findings the basic building blocks of genderresponsive e-government Inter-ministerial mechanisms for effective coordination (Republic of Korea s early initiatives in digital literacy involvement of women s machinery) Need for sex-disaggregated data (on women s use of the internet, online services, m-services, level of ICT skills, VAW online etc.)

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30 Service Delivery

31 Findings: Service Delivery Balance between standardisation of digital processes and agility of human mediation critical for women (Conditional Cash Transfers, Philippines) Making boundary spanning work for gender equality ensuring accountability and sustainability - Optimising contracts with technology providers (SERP, India) - Effective role division in interdepartmental convergence (Sex Offender Alert, Republic of Korea) -Prioritising domain expertise rather than IT expertise (Cybermentoring portal,republic of Korea)

32 Findings: Service Delivery Data governance frameworks: Some key considerations - balance public disclosure obligations with (offenders ) right to privacy (Sex Offender Alert, Republic of Korea) - promote the creation and consolidation of the digital knowledge commons (SA Community, Australia) - create robust public data systems (Safe Return Home, Republic of Korea piggy-backed on the open GIS of the early 2000s) - data taxonomies that reflect gender realities (ekasih, Malaysia)

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34 Citizen uptake

35 Findings: Citizen uptake Leadership of national women s machineries to encourage efforts towards promoting women s uptake (Philippines, Republic of Korea in the early 2000s) Innovations in access needs intermediation (ground-level facilitators) to make e-government meaningful and transformative for women (Community ecentres, Philippines)

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37 Connectivity Architecture

38 Findings: Connectivity architecture Connectivity is not just a technical consideration for egovernment; it is equally about promoting context-appropriate cultures of use (Sri Lanka s mobile learning project) Free public access is important for gender responsive egovernment, since Internet and smart phone use among women is still low in many developing countries (Public Library Network in Australia)

39 Recommendations Service Delivery Norms Promote e-government as a public policy instrument for pro-poor, gender-sensitive development Guarantee women s digital citizenship Balance effectively technology and human elements in service delivery design Rules Formulate clear rules to safeguard e-services from political volatility Institutionalise involvement of women s machinery in e-government Implement robust data governance Practices Build gender perspectives of public authorities Monitor e-government for gender-inclusion

40 Recommendations Citizen Uptake Norms Guarantee women s rights to fully participate in the information society Rules Ensure that online citizen engagement is tied to women s right to be heard Actively involve women not only in implementation, but also design and co-production of e-government services Practices Promote digital literacy as a strategic pathway to women s citizenship

41 Recommendations Connectivity Norms Promote universal access to the Internet Rules Deploy multiple policy instruments towards universalizing Internet access Make connectivity policies gender-responsive Practices Promote the effective use of mobile phones in citizen outreach Catalyze meaningful cultures of use through a public access, telecentre model

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43 Empowerment outcomes Individual Internalized attitudes, values, Access to and control over practices public and private resources - Self-esteem - Enhanced personal security - Active citizenship agency Informal - Access to public information on entitlements. - Increased trust in claims-making. - Access to redress for GBV Socio-cultural norms, beliefs and practices Laws, policies, resource allocation - Gains in public recognition - Strengthening of public solidarities - Higher systemic capability for gender-inclusive service delivery - Techno-learning platform responsive to women s needs Systemic Formal

44 Thank You!!