Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of the three components of universal access to Information Communications Technologies which are affordability, accessibility and availability on women’s participation in development as well as the effects of personal characteristics on women’s use of ICTs for participation in development in Kitale Municipality. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and a random stratified sampling technique. The target population was 37,701. The sample size was 390.The stratification was done on the basis of the 10 civic wards in Kitale Municipality. Data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done with SPSS statistical analysis software. The study established that affordability was not a significant factor in determining use of ICT in development by women. Availability of ICTs was significant in affecting use of ICT tools for development. Accessibility of ICTs was significant in affecting use of ICT tools for development. In personal characteristics education was most significant in affecting use of ICTs for development. The study findings were that the most significant variable was accessibility, while the least significant variable was affordability. Among the individual characteristics the study found education to be the most significant. The study concluded that increase in availability of ICTs, education and accessibility of ICTs had a positive impact on women’s participation in development while affordability did not. Recommendations from this study include that the ICT policy of Kenya should be gender specific as currently all the ICT policy documents are gender neutral. Recommendations on areas for further research include a comparative study on the effects of access to ICTs on women’s participation in development in urban and rural areas.
