Technology’s Quiet Revolution:Driving Women’s Empowerment

Isobel ColemanSenior Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations

Technology Transforming Daily Lives

• Reducing maternal death and family size

• Enabling girls’ education/income generation

• Creating greater connectivity with society/increased social awareness/civil society/activism

High Rates of Maternal Mortality in Africa/South Asia

(World Health Organization 2012)

Maternal deaths per 100,000 Births:1990 vs. 2010

(MDG Goals Report, 2013)

Rising Access to Contraception

(Shannon Jensen, AFP / Getty Images)

Falling Fertility Rates

United States India Zimbabwe Colombia Morocco Bangladesh Iran0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Number of years it took fertility in each country to fall from 6 children to less than 3

(World Bank, 2012)

Fertility Decline in Developing Countries

• 32 developing countries with fertility levels below replacement (by 2010)– Vietnam and Thailand in Southeast Asia– Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan,

Brunei, and Iran in MENA– Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Chile, Costa Rica,

Uruguay, and Suriname in Latin America

• 90% of 40 highest fertility countries in sub-Saharan Africa

Labor-Savings Critical for Women’s Empowerment

(Reuters)

Women Spend Upwards of 50% Waking Hours Collecting Water/Firewood

Household Pollution a Health Disaster

(Athar Hussain, Reuters)

Clean Cook Stoves: Saving Time/ Improving Health

(University of Washington)

Women in Agriculture

Kickstart Water Pumps

(ICRW Invisible Market)

Solar-Powered Irrigation

Women adopting new seeds/techniques necessary for next Green Revolution

(Mohanned Faisal, Reuters)

Mobile Phones Empowering Women

(Reuters)

Gender Gap in Access is Closing

Women less likely to own/access a cell phone than men in low and middle-income countries, but gap is narrowing

(AFP)

Women with cell phones report feeling: - more secure- more independent

Marketing Cellphones to Women

(Roshan)

Mobile Tech andCommunity Health in Ghana

(Grameen Foundation)

Internet Activism

Manal Al Sharif and women2drive campaign

Esraa Abdel Fattah “Facebook Girl”

(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

Media Messaging Women’s Rights

Issue-based Afghan drama series Rehaii

Turkish soap opera Noor

Soap Operas Challenging Mores

Dark Side to Technology

Gaining Speed: Technology’s Quiet Revolution for Women