international women's day
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Mar 09, 2012
March 8th is International Women's Day and to mark the occasion, the GSMA mWomen Programme has released a study called "Striving and Surviving – Exploring the Lives of Women at the Base of the Pyramid." Drawn from 2,500 interviews with women (aged 16-64 in both rural and urban areas) living on less that $2 a day in Egypt, India, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda, the report looks at how mobile technology influences the way women approach health, economic development, and family relationships, and what mobile operators can do to reach more low-income women.
The report is divided into three parts; part one looks at the social, cultural, and economic factors that women at the base of the economic pyramid face in their daily lives, part two looks at the role of mobile technology in their lives, and part three looks at how technology can be used to further reach low-income women.
Some of the statistics pulled from the report show that when asked what the key benefits of mobile would be: [quoted from report]
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Mar 08, 2012
Striving and Surviving: Exploring the Lives of Women at the Base of the Pyramid data sheet 802 Views
Abstract:
Striving and Surviving reveals that for most BoP [base of the pyramid] women, the main priority in life is simple survival. Better housing, family healthcare and a more stable income were also among the greatest priorities. If the mobile industry provides practical and affordable solutions to address these priorities, they are likely to find a receptive audience who stand to gain much from mobile ownership.
This report also identifies unique social, cultural and economic factors within each country which shape women’s needs and their attitude towards mobile ownership; the mobile industry will need to understand these factors if they are to develop services that will reach most BoP women. For example, in Uganda four out of five non-mobile users would be interested in owning a mobile, but in Southern India, this figure is less than 6%, due to factors such as cost or the disapproval of husbands. Only by understanding specific social attitudes and market factors will the mobile industry successfully realise the market potential of BoP women.
Such information will be revealed in greater depth in a series of reports that GSMA mWomen will release throughout 2012, examining each country in further detail, as well as focusing on specific needs such as health and education.
For now, Striving and Surviving aims to provide an overview which shines a light on BoP women’s lives, exploring the serious challenges they face, as well as their hopes and aspirations for the future. The report looks into the social and economic context in which they live, their priorities in life, their current mobile technology use, and how mobile operators and the international development community may help them to benefit from mobile in the future.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Mar 08, 2012
Portraits: A Glimpse into the Lives of Women at the Base of the Pyramid data sheet 621 Views
Abstract:
“I will ensure that my kids get proper education. They will be able to get jobs, have better money. They will not suffer.” Woman, rural North India
“Before I had a mobile phone it was very difficult to know what was happening with my relatives in the village… my husband could only give me permission twice a year to visit them… now I feel closer to them since I can talk to them…” Woman, Uganda
Above are the voices of just two of the more than 2,500 women who took part in Striving and Surviving – Exploring the Lives of Women at the Base of the Pyramid, GSMA mWomen’s new research report exploring the lives of women at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), those living on less than two US dollars a day. Portraits is a brief version of that report, designed to be as accessible and information-rich as possible.
The mobile industry – and indeed much of the world – knows little about the lives, struggles and aspirations of women at the BoP. Yet these women represent one of the largest opportunities for new users for the mobile industry, while also being the most likely to see real and substantial
improvements in their lives through mobile services which could, for example, provide crucial healthcare information or give them the tools to set up businesses to move out of poverty.
Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 09, 2009
Today is International Women's Day and we are celebrating by featuring innovative women in the MobileActive.org community who are making a difference by using mobiles for social impact. Many of these social innovators are indeed focusing their work on improving the lives of women - their health, incomes, and social and political well-being. We salute you all!
Melissa Loudon is a research officer at the Centre for Spatial Data Management at the University of Capetown in South Africa. She is also a talented mobile developer who used to work at Cell-Life, and she has written extensively for us, testing applications. Her most recent review of mobile tools for social development focused on data collection using a mobile phones.
