African Women Using Technology

African Women Using Technology 

10:30 - 12:00 March 13th

Church Center of United Nations

In the section of African women using technology, four members in the panel discussed the use of technology among women in different contexts. This section is divided into four sub-sections: (1) Women's education in science and technology; (2) women using mobile money in Kenya; (3) new schools for girls in Ghana; (4) Entrepreneurship using low-cost devices. 

1. Women's education in science and technology.

The speaker talked about the necessity to connect all levels of education from the very beginning of the education to promote women's expectations in science and technology study. And women need a supportive environment and social strictures to form the sense and values of science and technology among girls. 

2. Women using mobile money in Kenya 

Speaker talked about why mobile money is needed and how it affects women's life in Kenya. By ensuring that women have the financial resources, they have the ownership to facilitate economic development of the country. And some characteristics of mobile money are mentioned, including that mobile money is social in nature and it is based on big data technology. 

In terms of how women use mobile money, the speaker mentioned how mobile money helps to protect the privacy of money receivers so that no other people know who receive money from where. And women also use mobile money to sell farm product in only five minutes, which greatly improves their time-management and increase the efficiency in money transfer. 

But the speaker also mentioned some challenges related to the mobile money use, such as fraud. And she addressed the issues of some visually impaired women who can hardly be benefited by the mobile money technology. By mentioning this, the speaker highlighted that we should not leave any people behind.

3. Schools for girls in Ghana

The speaker mentioned the combination of low and high technology in building schools for girls in Ghana. Technology should provide people higher level of freedom and practical application of scientific knowledge. 

She provided us several examples, such as considering local wind and environment to ensure computers in the computer lab can function well. And beside building bathrooms for girls, people should also pay attention to how to use technology to build period friendly bathrooms for girls. 

4. Entrepreneurship using low-cost devices

The speaker talked about how using low-cost devices, such as mobile phones, can help women entrepreneurs in their business. She presents interviews with women about how building websites can help women communicate with customers, which helps to boost their business. And in the last, she emphasizes that technology should not be a privilege but benefit all people around the world.