ICT Literacy for Marginalized Girls and Women’s Empowerment

Introduction

ICT success stories in developing countries show that ICT can impact women in remote regions and can transform their lives through information and job creation, driving women to empowerment (Huyer & Sikoska, 2003; Wamala, 2012). However, not all individuals have equal opportunities to access and benefit from technology, which, in developing countries such as the Philippines, contributes to the so-called “digital divide.” The affluent and educated are still more likely to have good access to digital services than others (Hilbert, 2011). This was asserted in the study by Roberts and Hernandez (2019), which showed that digital inequalities will remain regardless of increasing connectivity; the most marginalized communities are hardly connected and cannot participate in digital citizenship programs. The “digital divide” has been inevitably tied with a lack of skills, access to ICTs, and inequality of access and process (Kularski & Moller, 2012; Van Dijk & Hacker, 2003), and often exacerbates social inequalities (Antonio & Tuffley, 2014) by which women are more affected.

This notion of the gender digital divide is often perceived as the reason that the power of women is not increasing. This leads to a recognition that ICT as a diverse aspect comprises some circumstances that hinder women in communicating through and accessing digital information (Olatokun, 2007). It could be that women perceive themselves as incapable of understanding or using ICTs, others may not have the privilege of accessing ICT materials or have opportunities to engage with ICT resources, and lastly, it may be related to the social inclusion perspective (O’Neil et al., 2014).

In recent years, the need to empower women through literacy has been receiving attention. Literacy is a “human right,” an element in dealing with equity (Eldred, 2013), and ICT literacy is thought of as a vital competency for fully taking part in a knowledge-driven economy and society (Australian Council for Educational Research, 2016). It can be delineated as “using digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society” (International ICT Literacy Panel, 2002, p. 2). Moreover, ICTs can be an effective instrument to empower women and a catalyst for economic growth, especially in underdeveloped areas (Cummings & O’Neil, 2015). Some authors have asserted that access to ICTs will ensure social inclusion and economic transformations for marginalized groups (Nemer, 2015; Njoki & Wabwoba, 2015; Roberts & Hernandez, 2019). Moreover, literacy skills “can act as a catalyst which can both precipitate progress across the goals and multiply their benefits in mutually reinforcing ways” (Wetheridge, 2016, p. 1). Therefore, literacy matters, because we understand that training and literacy skills improve the likelihood of acquiring work and completely engaging in society.

Empowerment is a multidimensional notion that brought about the personal and social development of women (or men): Having the power to exercise choice and resolve external issues, control their personal lives, and have critical consciousness (Eyben, 2011; Rowlands, 1997). The link between literacy learning, empowerment of women, and the achievement of greater equality has been demonstrated in international organizations. For example, literacy was recognized as the central component of the right to education in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since it promotes the promotion of other human rights and the ideals of equality for human development (UIL, 2013; UNESCO, 2006a, 2016). Therefore, literacy has the potential to boost the ability of people to act in the pursuit of independence and increase their ability, and plays a crucial role in empowering and transforming their lives (Dutt, 2017).

In addition, women are capable of improving and growing in various facets of their life, including psychological, political, social, and economic (Kenkarasseril, 2013; Luttrell et al., 2009; Rowlands, 1997). The study by Cummings and O’Neil (2015) showed that ICT’s impact on providing women’s basic inputs was to enhance their ability for better decision-making, learning opportunities, and technical or practical skills. Clearly, ICTs have a vital role in women’s progress and contribute to empowerment, providing opportunities such as in business, skills training, and information on global issues, to mention some. It also has the capacity to empower marginalized communities (Zikmund, 2000).

Studies have presented the contribution of ICT as a tool to overcome inequities for women, to leverage status, and for empowerment (Beena & Mathur, 2012; Khan & Ghadially, 2010; O’Neil et al., 2014; Rathi & Nyogi, 2015; Wagner et al., 2005; Zikmund, 2000). One example was the study by Beena and Mathur (2012), in which 94% of 200 women who attended the ICT training in Jaipur District in India said that it provided “technological empowerment” because the acquired skills provided them with “greater confidence and competence.” Researchers investigating the impact of ICT training programs generally conclude that trainees are empowered as a result. However, the studies presented are from countries like India and Bangladesh, and there is a lack of research data with regard to ICT and women empowerment in the Philippine context.

There are 7,017 islands in the Philippines, 8 regions of 82 provinces, 135 cities and 1493 municipalities, and there are great inequalities from region to region. There is very little development taking place in the provincial regions, especially those outside the Luzon area, and most of the economic potential is concentrated in highly urbanized regions in Luzon and Visayas. In contrast to the Luzon region, Mindanao has lower revenue groups in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Regions 9–12. Mindanao has historically lagged behind Luzon and Visayas in terms of infrastructure growth and other areas, including ICT. It can be argued that Mindanao contains the largest number of marginal communities, especially in provinces like Lanao del Sur and Lanao Del Norte. Apparent gaps exist between regions primarily because of resources, which include not only tangible infrastructure but also information capital (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2017).

In order to provide internal criteria for technologically literate workers, there is a need to improve ICT skills in all regions of the Philippines. Exposing learners to technology produces potential workers who can later be expected to use ICT to maximize efficiency, minimize costs, and enhance outcomes (Rodrigo, 2001). ICT literacy training has been initiated by the government and non-government organizations, but mostly for teachers and limited to specific cities only (Bitanga, 2013; DICT, 2019, 2020; Echeminada, 2013; Good Things Foundation, 2016; Knowledge Community, 2020) neglecting marginalized groups and poorer communities. These efforts may be welcome, but there is more work to be done to address the country’s digital divide. As part of the community extension, there is a way that academic institutions can also contribute by offering capacity building to their nearest community. The case study conducted here is located geographically within the province of Lanao del Norte. Iligan City belongs to a first-class district with 44 barangays and has a number of marginal communities.

In an increasingly digital literate society, the effect for people who lack basic digital skills is on employability, community, and social participation, and they are increasingly excluded as the government and increasing numbers of companies digitize their services (Good Things Foundation, 2016; Dalberg Global Development Advisors, 2017). ICT has a vital role in the development of the Philippines, but not everyone has access to or is given equal opportunity to receive ICT training and develop skills. Numerous resource-poor communities in Mindanao, in particular, do not have opportunities for training, thereby contributing to the digital divide and to the disparities in ICT access, usage, skills, support, and involvement. There is a need for marginalized groups of people, especially women in regions of Mindanao region like Iligan City, to assimilate ICT skills and capabilities to enable their empowerment and provide them with the knowledge and skills needed in the post-digital-era world. These tools are expected to reshape education, social relations, recreation, work, and other relevant transactions. Knowing the role women play in families and communities means that benefits are likely to be sustainable across generations.

Given that ICT skills are vital for sustainable development, the goal for this project is to create an ongoing opportunity for women and girls (who do not have the opportunity to learn ICT skills) through ICT literacy training that will act as a catalyst to empower them and somehow change their lives for the better. In addition, a Gender Digital Divide still exists in the Philippines, but it is difficult to provide factual evidence due to a lack of research. It is in this context that this study intends to contribute to ICT4D (Information and Communications Technologies for Development). As mentioned above, empowering marginalized women and girls through ICT training, especially in the Philippines’ resource-poor community, is vital. The objective of the study is to evaluate the ICT training for marginalized women and girls from the perspective of individual empowerment in Iligan City, Philippines.

In light of the value of ICT skills in reducing the gender digital divide and promoting sustainable development, the research question is as follows: “What are the outcomes of ICT training for marginalized girls and women in terms of their individual empowerment?”

Literature Review

ICT Literacy and Women Empowerment

Education is an inalienable human right. It is also unique in that it empowers the individual to exercise other civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, attaining a life of dignity, while ensuring a brighter future for all, free from want and from fear. (UNESCO, 2006b)

Empowerment means “any process that enables autonomy, self-direction, self-confidence, [and] self-worth” (Narayan, 2005, p. 1) or as defined by Bystydzienski (1992), “a process by which oppressed persons gain some control over their lives by taking part with others in the development of activities and structures that allow people increased involvement in matters which affect them directly” (p. 3).

The United Nations recognized the all-pervasive nature of gender inequality and created the standalone Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (as depicted in Figure 1) targeting “gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls” with its commitment to “leaving no one behind.” This specifically addresses the empowerment of women through ICTs and by mainstreaming gender equality across the SDGs on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The target specific actions include: “5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women; and 5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels ” (ADB & UN Women, 2018, p. 27). This provides remarkable opportunities to change the lives of women and girls and the improvements generated will lead to sustainability.

Figure 1.

SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (ADB & UN Women, 2018).

ICTs are an important instrument for gender empowerment and where other countries are already ahead in using ICT to their benefit, developing countries like the Philippines are still struggling to make effective use of it.

Studies have presented the contributions of ICT as a tool for women to overcome inequities, as a tool to leverage status, and as a tool for empowerment (Beena & Mathur, 2012; Khan & Ghadially, 2010; O’Neil et al., 2014; Paul & Thompson, 2018; Rathi & Nyogi, 2015; Wagner et al., 2005; Zikmund, 2000). Successful case studies have pointed out that ICT is a probable instrument in women empowerment, enriching their knowledge and skills. The study by Laizu et al. (2010) presented women’s empowerment in terms of perceptual change in rural villages in Bangladesh after ICT intervention. They used mixed-methods through a structured questionnaire and made a comparison between who used and did not use ICT in terms of women’s perception from two different villages where ICT projects were introduced. The results indicated more positive perceptions by women who used ICT. Another example was the study of Beena and Mathur (2012), whose results show (as mentioned earlier) that 94% of 200 women who attended the ICT training of the Jaipur District, India, said that it provided technological empowerment because the acquired skills gave them greater confidence and competence.

The project conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation (WWWF) (2014) in 10 countries provided evidence-based data on women empowerment and ICT issues to “promote the commitment and incorporation of action plans on women’s rights in ICT decision and policy-making spheres” (p. 4). This was carried out given the dearth of pertinent data regarding this matter. As Hafkin (2002) argues, when women are left out in ICT data, it means they are also ignored in data and policies. The project conducted focus group discussions and household surveys in ten countries (Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Colombia, India, the Philippines and Indonesia). The WWWF claimed that web-enabled ICTs have the capacity to lessen certain constraints experienced by women, including “illiteracy, poverty, time scarcity, lack of mobility, cultural and religious taboos, and constraints on voice (particularly public voice) (p. 19).” They studied what they identified as the “seven key factors of web ICT access and use” in the context of women empowerment:

• i) Individual agency, self-esteem, self-expression (safety);
• ii) Social interaction (peer interaction, networking);
• iii) Public institutional participation
• iv) Access to and use of informational resources
• v) Access to communicative platforms
• vi) Access to associational/collective action spaces
• vii) Access to economic opportunity (World Wide Web Foundation, 2014, p. 12).

A conceptual framework for empowerment was suggested by Laizu et al. (2010), as shown in Figure 2. It illustrates the relationship between the three components of empowerment, “resources, agency, and outcomes (results associated with empowerment)” (p. 220). The process of empowerment is controlled by two factors: the Agency —ability to formulate choices; and the Resources —conditions for empowerment.

Figure 2.

The conceptual framework in the study of Laizu et al. (2010, p. 220).

Moreover, the framework for empowerment proposed by Lennie (2001) includes technological empowerment as well as social, political, and psychological empowerment, forming four interrelated dimensions (shown in Figure 3). This was delineated in Lennie et al.’s Outcomes of the Learners Project (Lennie et al., 2004). They argued that social empowerment includes key elements of social capital (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). It is required to enable effective participation in community action and decision-making and other processes that can lead to political empowerment (Friedmann, 1992). Psychological empowerment can result from successful action related to the community or to politics, as well as from “intersubjective work” (Friedmann, 1992, p. 33). Given the increasing use of the Internet and other C&IT in providing information, community consultation, and the networking of advocacy and lobby groups, technological empowerment is now becoming an important prerequisite to social and political empowerment (Lennie, 2001, 2002a, p. 27).

Figure 3.

The framework of empowerment used according to Lennie (2001, p. 320).

In addition, Laizu et al. (2010) proposed a model for assessing empowerment for ICT intervention (shown in Figure 4). As depicted, the independent variables vary for every woman, (e.g., education, age, motivation, other personal characteristics) and the dependent variables (material, relational, cognitive, perceptual and technological change) directly influence the independent variables.

Figure 4.

Suggested model for assessing empowerment for ICT intervention by Laizu et al. (2010, p. 220).

Gigler (2004) argued that “improved access to information and ICT skills, similar to the enhancement of a person’s writing and reading skills, can enhance poor peoples’ capabilities to make strategic life choices and to achieve the lifestyle they value” (p. 1). According to Gigler, the indicator for individual empowerment has six dimensions (informational, psychological, social, economic, political, and cultural) that support individual human capability enhancement in various ways.

Table 1

Indicators for individual empowerment (through ICT use)—human capabilities strengthened

In this study, the focus is on the outcome assessment of ICT training for marginalized girls and women concerning individual empowerment.

Evaluation Framework

This study focuses on the empowerment of marginalized women and girls through ICT literacy training from the individual empowerment perspective. The evaluation framework in this study incorporates the proposed pathway model by O’Donnell et al.’s (2003) and the core indicators of computer training outcomes suggested by Wagner et al. (2005). Student attitudes and student skills are the main indicators of computer training success. In this study, the pathway model involves contacting and empowering marginalized communities, improving skills, and ensuring that social and cultural needs are supported.

The outcome of the program is individual empowerment, as shown in Figure 5. To assess individual empowerment, both the core indicators framework and the pathway model introduced above are used.

Figure 5.

Evaluation Framework.

Methodology

This study aims to understand how ICT literacy training could empower marginalized women and girls in a resource-poor community in Iligan City, Philippines. A descriptive case study approach was adopted to conduct an investigation.

A case study “is a general term for the exploration of an individual, group or phenomenon” (Sturman, 1997, p. 61). A case study is a narrative about individuals, organizations, processes, services, and even events. The case analysis offers a detailed understanding by collecting the comprehensive details of the case. Evaluating the progress and difficulty of a project is useful. If there is a particular narrative to be told, to address questions such as what occurred in the program and how it transpired, case studies are suitable. Moreover, a case study may be based on a single or several cases (Yin, 2003). Accordingly, the descriptive research study intends to acquire data concerning the current situation and will possibly draw conclusions from the facts discussed (Zikmund, 2000).

The case target was the ICT literacy training of marginalized girls and women extension project of the College of Computer Studies, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan City, Philippine. The study mainly targets the perspectives on their individual empowerment of the women and girls who participated in the ICT literacy training and evaluation of the training program.

The Case Study

The case target for this study is the extension project of the College of Computer Studies of MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT)—the “ICT Literacy Training”—which is providing ICT skills mainly to marginalized women and girls in Iligan City, Philippines. The extension project is supported by the Gender and Development (GAD) Center of the Institute and the GAD Center of the Local Government Unit (LGU)-Iligan. The project duration was March to August 2019.

The MSU-IIT Department of Extension (n.d.) mission is to “deliver effective and responsive extension services that will enable the people to improve their quality of lives towards sustainable development”, and one of the key areas is the Education and Training Program.

The MSU-IIT Gender and Development Center (n.d.) mission is “to serve as the support structure for the efficient and effective mainstreaming of gender plans, programs, and activities into the areas of instruction, research, extension, and production in the Institute and the local community for the advancement of RA 7192.”

This study was conducted in Iligan City, located in the province of Lanao del Norte in the Philippines (see map in Figure 6). Iligan City (http://www.iligan.gov.ph/ about-iligan/) is situated in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), approximately 800 kilometers southeast of Manila. It has a land area of 81,337 hectares (813.37 sq. km.) with 44 barangays (administrative divisions). The major dialect is Cebuano but languages spoken by other cultural minorities like Higaonons, Maranao, and Kolibugan, are also present. Although it is classified as highly urbanized, since it is located in Mindanao, the ICT development in this region lags behind that of Luzon and Visayas (Marcelo, 2018).

Figure 6.

A general map of the Philippines and Iligan City illustrating the study area.Source: https://www.iligan.gov.ph.

Results and Discussion

The training objectives are to build confidence and skills in using computer technology for employment opportunities by providing training on ICT literacy that will promote sustainable development; and to support gender equality and women empowerment.

Project Strategy

The main strategy for this project was to identify participants for the training by having candidates voluntarily answer the questionnaire and complete an informal interview with our extension-partner, GAD-Iligan.

GAD-Iligan personnel distributed questionnaires to 44 barangays of Iligan City using a convenience sampling method. Two hundred questionnaires were given to the office of GAD-Iligan, but only 114 were filled and returned, and only 90 of the respondents were women. Since the purpose of the survey was to identify 40 participants for batch 1 of the ICT training, 90 respondents was sufficient. The main purpose of the survey was to identify their ICT competency level, their ICT experience and opinions, and the ICT skills they wished to learn. Table 2 below shows a summary of the applicants’ survey responses, their demographics, perception, and experience with ICT. Most of the applicants were young adults aged 15–25 and 26–35 years, and the majority were high school graduates (73%).

Table 2

Summary of the Survey Responses

All 90 respondents claimed to have used the computer or internet at least once in their life. Almost 68% of the participants were using their smartphone to access the net, while others were using tablets, laptops, or desktops. Further, all of the participants agreed on the need for assistance in using the computer, in terms of searching, opening, and using application software (81%), computer set-up (16%), and even coding (1%). In fact, the majority of them, around 52%, rated themselves as being below average in terms of their capacity to use a computer. These were the people who rated themselves below four, ten being the highest. The majority had used a computer within the last three months, with 27% using computers every day, 38.9% once a week, and more than 11% once a month. Lastly, participants were eager to learn how to use MS PowerPoint, MS Word, and MS Excel, how to browse the internet, and perform graphics editing, as well as some basic computer functions such as encoding.

Despite the lack of ICT literacy and competency of the participants, 78% believed that ICT would in some way improved their life outlook, while 11% were not sure if ICT would have an impact on their life.

Since there are 90 applicants and only 40 were needed for batch 1 training, the head of GAD-Iligan informally interviewed the applicants and personally handpicked the participants based on the basic requirements: women living in poverty, unemployed, with at least an elementary level education (can read and write) but with no ICT training experience.

Infrastructure

Forty computers (Intel Core Duo E5200 2.5 GHz, 2 M L2 Cache, 800 Mhz FSB, 2 GB DDR2 800 Mhz) in the computer laboratory (Figure 7) of the college were used during the training.

Figure 7.

Computer laboratory.

Training Pedagogy

The training consisted of 56 hours spread over 7 weeks (8 hours per week). The training allowed participants to familiarize themselves with computers and learn basic computer competencies such as mouse and computer keyboarding skills, computer applications, and cyber laws. Before training, an e-learning module was developed and was used during the training to tackle foundational computer literacy skills and ICT competencies. Figure 8 shows the introduction screen of the module.

Figure 8.

The e-learning module introduction screen.

Figure 9 shows the topics covered by the sub-modules. These modules addressed the Sustainable Development Goals for education SDG 4, specifically target 4.4, “By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship” and indicator 4.4.1 “[increase] the proportion of youth/adults with ICT skills, by type of skill” (UIS, 2018, p. 110).

Figure 9.

Topics covered by the module.

To evaluate ICT skills, the module was integrated with the skills proposed by UIS. The module excludes computer programming (it will be a different program), but added digital imaging tools and cyber laws and ethics that we thought were important.

This was uploaded in MOLE (MSU-IIT Online Learning Environment), an online learning environment used by MSU-IIT, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10.

The uploaded module in an online learning environment.

To ensure that the participants could perform the assigned practice tasks, they had to work alone at their designated workstations. Four laboratory assistants were always present during the training to assist participants and trainers. The trainers were faculty of the College of Computer Studies, and the laboratory assistants were laboratory technicians and IT student volunteers from the college.

At the end of the training, participants had to take the assessment to received training certificates; 100% of them passed the exams, which were designed by the trainers.

Information on Participants

As mentioned, the participants were women living in poverty, unemployed, with at least an elementary education but no ICT training experience. This was done to provide ICT literacy for marginalized women in Iligan City, to build their confidence and ICT skills in using computer technology for employment opportunities, and to promote sustainable development and support gender equality and women empowerment. The statistical information is displayed below.

As shown in Table 3 and Figure 11, participants were aged 15–46 years old and resided in Barangay Acmac, Buru-un, Dalipuga, Ditucalan, Hinaplanon, Kiwalan, Mahayahay, Santiago, Tambacan and Suarez.

Table 3

Age of Participants

Figure 11.

Barangay Residence of Participants.

As shown in Figure 12, most of the participants (88%) were high school graduates and only 12% were elementary graduates.

Figure 12.

Educational Level of Participants.

Individual Empowerment

To assess the level of individual empowerment, the indicators in the evaluation framework were used to assess the participants. The core outcome indicators were attitude and skills obtained. Table 4 shows the result of the evaluation of the participants’ attitude, while Table 5 and Figure 12 show the results of their gained skills.

Table 4

Participant Attitude

Table 5

Skills Gained during Training

Skills Gained during Training

The participants were also asked whether they had more ICT skills after training, and all of them said “yes” Mostly, they learned about operating computers, their typing skills improved, they learned how to surf the internet and use MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and how to use photoshop to edit images. They were also interested in advanced training.

In addition, prior to and after training, a preliminary and post-assessment was carried out to measure what the participants had learned during training. For both evaluations, the same set of questions were given. Overall, based on the participants’ points prior to training and their points after training, it can be noted that the participants did learn from training. The pre-test average score was 20.38, with a highest score of 37.50 and a lowest score of 7.5, while the average score for the post-test was 72.63, with a highest post-test score of 97.50 and a lowest score of 50.00. The result was 0.6, based on a calculation of the normalized-gain test, which shows a substantial improvement in their scores after training in ICT literacy.

At the end of the post-survey, 100% responded yes when asked whether the training had empowered them. Figure 13 shows the summary of how participantsthought they were empowered after training based on the post-survey. Most women after the training have been empowered on their ability to access educational resources (70.80%) and their ability to access information (64.60%). These results may have something to do with the participants’ highest educational attainment of which most of them have only reached high school. Further, this empowerment has concurred to the survey results of which most of their reasons why ICTs are important is for them to be able to learn and be updated. Second is on their ability to equate the opportunities afforded to men and women (54.20%) and their ability to access financial services (50%). These results may represent the need for women to be financially independent. Because of the lack of education, they may have found a new opportunity for a business platform where they own their own time without a need for big capital. Lastly, women have found self-worth (43.80) in using the computer and feel that they can use ICT as tool for promoting just and humane society 43.80%) as their reach is expanded virtually.

Figure 13.

Participants’ ideas of how they feel empowered.

Discussion

Empowerment is the course of improving one’s life to becoming better and more assured. This paper conducted a case study approach to evaluate the ICT training of marginalized girls and women based on individual empowerment. The core outcome indicators—the participants’ attitude and the skills obtained during training—were the determinants for assessing individual empowerment. The participants were aware of the significance of having ICT skills and their desire for empowerment gave them the impetus and conviction to undertake the training. The ICT training enhanced the participants’ computer self-efficacy. They perceived that throughout the training, technical skills were strengthened. Now better able to keep up with the high pace of technology advancement, most participants were more positive and hopeful. Moreover, they were also satisfied with the course material used in training and their trainers. Based on the assessment, it is clear that their skills improved.

That women can be empowered through ICT training has been asserted in the studies by Wagner et al. (2005), Khan and Ghadially (2010), Beena and Mathur (2012), O’Neil et al. (2014), Cummings and O’Neil (2015), and Rathi and Nyogi (2015), and the results of this study support those claims.

It is important to emphasize that disadvantaged groups need government, community support, and even support from academic institutions. Policies and programs on ICT such as capacity building and free access to ICTs are vital to stimulate their confidence by giving them a direction and opportunities to prosper in life. The primary driver of the digital divide is the lack of facilities, regarding which there is an obvious disparity across the Philippine region. Among the evident digital divide experiences common to all participants was difficulty in accessing the internet and the inadequacy of computer resources. Although some have cell phones, none of the participants included in our study had personal computers of their own.

Conclusion

The findings of this study imply that there is a need for ICT funding for marginalized communities because ICT skills training is a potentially high impact tool that can empower deprived groups. Moreover, academic institutions can help as part of their community extension program since they have the labor resources and facilities. In this digital era, being ICT literate can help them to be more productive now and in the future and will give them the opportunity to compete in the intellectual workforce rather than being left behind in today’s fast ICT- and information- driven economy. That being said, there should also be long-term sustainable approaches to overcoming the gender digital divide in the community. As for marginalized women, it is vital to stimulate their confidence by giving them every means in their capacity to see the potential that lies dormant within them. An accurate blueprint to nurture, polish, and sharpen those skills can only be created through education awareness and the space to freely express oneself. ICT literacy training can foster economic independence, especially for those women who are financially dependent on others. ICT skills is a potentially high impact tool that can empower deprived or marginalized groups and facilitate digital inclusion.

To examine how ICT training empowers marginalized women and girls, this paper conducted a case study. Future research could adopt a similar framework to this study to analyze similar training projects aimed at individual empowerment. In addition, to analyze the degree of empowerment more deeply, it is recommended that the participants be keep track of for future studies.

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