My colleagues and the government officials I work with have a standard response whenever I mention the word gender: they stretch, point to another person and say, “That’s their area, not mine.” They think that it’s impossible to use the words ‘gender’ and ‘making money’ in the same sentence. I’m here to tell them that it is possible. If anyone is interested in a workable business model for a Community eCenter, they must be interested in gender.

Why?

A community needs more than just connectivity and a facility for ICT services. A community needs a voice and a chance to participate and identify the products and services which a CeC can give them. We need to listen to the community speaking their values and preferences. And gender sensitivity can open this door between the community and the CeC.

Like many other Filipinos who spent most of their adult life in urban areas, I believed that gender equality is achieved whenever men and women are treated the same. I believed that there are no disparities between men and women's roles and activities, resources and constraints, and benefits and incentives in urban and rural areas. So why the need to identify gender issues when we have no gender problems? I truly felt that gender was NOT an issue in the Philippines.

My beliefs changed after working with the Association for Progressive Communications, and reading some of the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) materials.   What stuck to mind was that, “Gender equality is the equal valuing by society of the similarities and the differences of men and women, and the roles they play”.  

I understood that men and women have different answers to the questions referring to access, control and effective use of information, and CeCs that utilize GEM in their operations get a better understanding of these needs and how to handle these needs. Having this understanding, it becomes closer to the community, which at the end of the day, will support and sustain the CeC because it is sensitive to their needs and requirements. GEM makes it possible for CeCs to become relevant in the lives of the men and women of a community.

The first time I used GEM was in 2008, when we developed an evaluation plan and conducted focus group discussions to identify the gaps between the business development plan and the gender and ICT issues in the CeCs of Bato, Leyte and Binalonan, Pangasinan. When we started, a lot of people did not know about their CeC’s existence. However, by the end of our work, people were asking for the CeC’s schedule, what services would soon be available and when they can start availing of the training.

Having a GEM in place allows CeCs to become more sensitive and attuned to the needs of its community, relevant to the wants of both men and women. A CeC which understands the community gains its support, and in turn, contributes to its sustainability, financially and otherwise. Relevance sells.

So, if you want to sustain your CeC, it’s high time you put gender on your agenda!