And now, our focus turns to the female citizens of sub-Saharan Africa!

This blog caption is actually the title of an unpublished work (currently under review) by Dr. Fay Cobb Payton, who has to her credit, numerous publications straddling the crossroads of ICT, digital divide and 3rd world access.

Here's a 20 thousand feet synopsis of the book;

Technology alone cannot act as a direct cause of women's empowerment.
Therefore, we do not support the argument that ICT will change women's
lives in a profound and positive way. Instead, we find that strategic
empowerment can only occur in the context of broader social change, and
even Western, technologically advanced nations continue to grapple with
the roles of women in IT issues (Berki and Payton, 2005).
Moreover, in developed nations where access to ICT training and
opportunities appear plentiful, women tend to op-out of IT careers
after a short period in the workforce participation and/or after reaching a
plateau, given the increased demands associated with family,
organizational barriers and/or career balance.  This is in light of the
escalating presence of tele-work or telecommuting which creates the
organizational-imposed or self-imposed need to be connected to the
e-world.  Despite these findings from the Western world (CIO Magazine,
2000; Black, et al., 2004; Berki and Payton, 2005), our data suggest
that [sub-saharan] women welcome (at minimum) training and educational
opportunities.
The practical empowerment issues and challenges associated with family,
work-life balance and 24 x 7 career demands seem to be issues that 
[sub-Saharan African] women will contend with as consequences of ICT.

We suggest that these consequences can have different outcomes than

those which occur in the Western world, as family dynamics and national

infrastructure vary in SSA countries.  Hence, while we observed similar

global perspectives and report them in the findings, these local conditions

can result in diverse outcomes.