Speaker: Mala Mukherjee
The session will be online via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/5480751181
(If you have never used Zoom before, the link will first prompt you to download the software (it is free). It takes only a few minutes but please do plan for this. For the rest, you have to click on the meeting link join in. If there is an issue, please email urbanization@cprindia.org)
About the talk
India’s ‘Digital India’ campaign talks about universal access to digital technology. However, how far is it possible for common Indian women to access digital devices? In a patriarchal setup, resource allocation has always remained low for women, especially for the wives and daughters-in-law. In spite of household access to laptops, desktops and smartphones, access is extremely low among women.
This talk is based on a survey conducted among women across various social groups, age, education and working groups, living in various slums of Delhi. Looking at women’s access to digital devices under conditions of complete and conditional access, the talk will elaborate on the factors and conditions behind conditional access and analyze the status of women’s knowledge of digital technology. It will also present the results of statistical analysis: how do characteristics like age, caste and religion impact access and knowledge about digital devices? Do education levels and working status improve access?
The talk offers an empirical understanding of the ‘gender gap’ in digital technology, which is vital at a time when the state and market are increasingly relying on technological solutions to reach out to beneficiaries and consumers.
At times such as now, when the response to the CoVID-19 pandemic is heavily reliant on digital communication, it becomes even more important to understand issues of access in slums, which are highly vulnerable due to their high density and lack of services.
About the speaker
Mala Mukherjee is Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi. She has a PhD in Geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where she focused on issues of deprivation and vulnerability in low-income areas in Kolkata. Her current research interests are in the areas of urban deprivation, urban transformation and social exclusions.
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