ICT, Intermediaries, and the Transformation of Gendered Power Structures

Main author: Oreglia, Elisa
Other authors: Srinivasan, Janaki
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-21828
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic H Social Sciences (General)
T Technology (General)
description Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are believed to hold much potential to empower women, both socially and economically, in low-income and rural communities. In this paper, we focus on rural women who mediate ICT use as telecenter operators in India and as helpers and enablers for family members in rural China. We explore under what circumstances they may be able to renegotiate existing gendered power structures. We argue that acts of reconciling or confronting these different spaces they inhabit can allow intermediaries to remake their own identities and positions in their community. This process, rather than the potential associated with ICTs, is where spaces for empowerment often lie.
format Journal Article
author Oreglia, Elisa
author_facet Oreglia, Elisa
Srinivasan, Janaki
authorStr Oreglia, Elisa
author_letter Oreglia, Elisa
author2 Srinivasan, Janaki
author2Str Srinivasan, Janaki
title ICT, Intermediaries, and the Transformation of Gendered Power Structures
publisher Management Information Systems Research Center, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
publishDate 2015
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21828/