These chix mean business: righting the FLOSS gender balance in Africa

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

These chix mean business: righting the FLOSS gender balance in Africa

By Frederick Noronha

With a name like LinuxChix, you might almost think this is a
flippant group. It isn't. On the contrary it's taking on the
very serious job of empowering women in technology, and
extending their participation, in the world of Free/Libre and
Open Source Software.

LinuxChix Africa, the Kenya-based Dorcas Muthoni says: "We
see LinuxChix Africa as a solution provider and also a
development organisation." They have an interesting forum and
website at http://africalinuxchix.org/

Linuxchix Africa was formed in 2004 "by African women and for
African women". It actually is a chapter in Africa affiliated
to Linuxchix worldwide. Its aim? To help toward building the
critical mass of GNU/Linux skills among African women, and to
advocate for the use of Free/Libre and Open Source Software
for the many community development challenges being faced by
Africans, especially African women.

South Africa's Anna Badimo and Kenya's Dorcas Muthoni are
both co-founders of Linuxchix Africa. 

Says Dorcas: "I'm a believer in business models to
approaching problems. If you don't approach with a business
model, you start asking questions how do we go, and how do we
grow. I do consultancy and also work on contract. I love
development work, but would always prefer when its packaged
in a business model, so I see where it's going."

So far, LinuxChix Africa has seen "a very nice response".
Their focus is on implementing activities. "We are working to
get communication going with other partners across the
continent. We've been drafting our business plan for the next
three years. Basically it places more emphasis on networking,
both for recruiting members and for recruiting partners,"
says Dorcas.

Africa faces a number of challenges currently: HIV/AIDS,
illiteracy, the lack of development, building up the
educational infrastructure, an unfair global economic system,
and more. 

Linuxchix Africa argues that community development can no
longer be viewed in isolation but require multi-tiered,
cross-sectoral, and well-coordinated approaches that are
aligned to Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

"Without ICT, communities get left behind and are unable to
take advantage of its social and economic benefits. This
integration of ICT into social development programmes is
often referred to as eDevelopment, eHealth and eLearning and
represent models of ICT intervention in development, health
and education respectively," argues the group on its website.

FLOSS, or Free/Libre and Open Source Software, now makes it
possible to make software available to people who would
otherwise not afford it. Countries will no longer have to
prioritise between poverty and the digital divide. Women,
affected the most, need to be "properly tooled and
positioned" to make that difference in their lives.

ICT also still tends to be male dominated; this is
particularly true in Free Software and Open Source.
Demystifying FLOSS is one of the key role the LinuxChix
Africa sets for itself.


MAIN BLOCKS: What has kept women away from a supposedly great
tool, FLOSS? 

Dorcas says: "Generally, there's lack of awareness about
FLOSS. Women are more seriously affected by this. Few people
(in our part of the world) have contact with, or a background
in, IT. Women also try to avoid science or mathematics.
They've not been in big numbers in IT or computers. So we've
had very few opportunities for women to interact (or mentor
other women)."

"I think people anyway fear computers, and women are more
affected by (this fear). This is true in the case of say
mobile phones too. Women tend to be a bit shy about playing
around with their phones then men are," Dorcas said in an
interview during the recent Africa Source II event, held in
Uganda. 

But with a lot of technology tools coming into their lives,
they're becoming more and more open to this. The whole IT
industry has opened a lot of specialised areas, which are not
necessary geeky. Women have started getting a lot of
attraction of IT. They're getting training it IT, not maybe
in developing but in networking, web-design and web-devlo.

What's their priority then?

LinuxChix Africa plans to go for young school-going girls,
and inform them more about information technology as an
industry. They feel this would help them identify IT -- and
FLOSS in particular -- as a career of choice. "Without that
information, very few will even consider it. I believe if
well informed, women are going to take up technology as an
option of choice," says Dorcas. 

In Kenya, she narrates, the girl who topped the board exams
recently said she wants to go into IT. "I still want to say
hi to her, and if possible share with her some ideas that can
excite her imagination," adds Dorcas. 

Young women lack mentors, and they don't know what to do or
how to get started. They don't have the confidence too. With
LinuxChix Africa on the horizon, could that change? 

See more such features on the Africa Source 2 wiki [3]

[1] http://africalinuxchix.org/
[2] http://www.tacticaltech.org/africasource2
[3] http://wiki.africasource2.tacticaltech.org/