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LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN |
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Although the literacy rates for women and access to higher education vary widely throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, there are additional regional reasons why so few women pursue IT careers. In much of Latin America, women's participation in the work force has increased dramatically during the past 15 years. Yet, like most other countries, women are represented in the largest numbers in the service sector. Within the IT sector, women reportedly make up only a small number of workers in the software industry. Furthermore, fewer women are employed in hardware jobs, such as networking because "Latino culture" views women as unsuitable for these jobs.
Additionally, women's ability to assume IT jobs will depend upon several factors such as on the on-the-job- treatment and pay equity. Therefore, women's participation in the Internet economy is constrained by obstacles both within the culture and in the work place. Although many Latin American countries have ratified treaties such as the Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in practice, very few have implemented substantial change policies for women. Moreover, while many of these same governments have enacted additional legislation protecting women on the job or special ministries to help women overcome societal obstacles, violations of these policies often go unenforced.
Also, in many regions, women's access to information technologies is also quite limited. For example, in El Salvador, only 1 percent of the country has desktop Internet access. Moreover, in some regions, up to 60% of the population lives in rural areas, the majority of whom are women. It is more difficult to migrate to the cities to pursue higher education leading to careers because of responsibilities in caring for children and the elderly. For girls in rural areas, low education enrollment and desertion is a problem; they are needed for household work. So, many of the women in Latin America are never given the opportunity to even consider a job in high-tech fields.
However, the Internet is a new force that is only recently starting to reach the many parts of Latin America. The impact of the Internet on women is not yet clear, but will be determined by how well challenges are overcome. To help establish women into more IT careers, the Cisco Learning Institute's Gender Initiative is being implemented in countries within this region with the help of the Trust for the Americas.
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