Low Income Women & The Internet

There are hundreds of thousands of women who still live below poverty level in Canada, and not by choice. Some have small children and can not afford day care so they can’t go to work, others have different kinds of barriers that prevent them from getting work or keeping work. Some live in isolation either because their families are far away or they don’t have enough money for transport to get around. The opportunities are scarce. The question I ask is, can the Internet do anything for these women?

Yes. I think the Internet can do a lot for low-income women. But, can they afford the Internet or a computer or the Internet training. No, most of them can’t afford the training, the computer or the access to Internet. So, what can they do to get access? Many can probably go to a local library and use the computer there or to the local employment Centre. The problem with this is that you must already be able to use the computer and the Internet to take advantage of these services, and be ready to fight over the computer with many male youth; as a result low income women just don’t bother.

Somebody asked me this question? “Why do you train low income women to use the Internet when you know that they can’t afford it anyway?”. I thought about this and I went to the women and asked them why they want to learn to use the Internet when they know that they can’t afford it. Sixty five women (18% of the women have access to a computer) answered the question. I’ll share some of the answers with you.

I think it will help me communicate and learn about everything around the world and this will help me in my job search. I know that now I can’t afford a computer but I can go to my brother’s house to use it” writes a woman whose brother works for a local company.

Why not? It certainly is the new wave of communication. The idea of sharing & communicating with people all over the world thrills me and it’s a lot of fun, I can also make friends. I hope to buy a computer if I get a job and try to get free net. I want to be able to help my children understand the Internet because they have one at school” say another.

It will help me keep in contact with the rest of the world and check on what is happening in my home land, and also to shop and find information. It will also help me save on overseas telephone bills because I can talk to my relatives overseas and E-mail them through the Internet” writes a woman who is a new Canadian.

From sixty five women came different answers, but they all share a common vision such as the need to communicate with the rest of the world, the need to look for work, the need to get a head and keep up with technology, the need to save on telephone bills etc... And for these reasons and many others, they feel they need to get on line

To me it was not surprising at all, it’s like having a dream and trying to achieve it. Being on low income not does not make our need to get ahead and make life better for ourselves any different than for those people who have. So if the Internet can do this for these women, I say go for it. This could mean great sacrifices for many of these women, both in time and money, such as spending less time at home with the kids; because they have to take a few hours and go to the local library to use the computer to access the Internet. It could mean less money for food because they have to use food money to go to places that have Internet access, if there is any around.

What can governments and the corporate sector do to help these women? Considering that the women are about 54% of the population and almost 60% are low income, you would think the government and the corporate sector would consider ways and means to help. But to the government and it’s corporate sector partners the Internet is not for low income women. I say this because if it was there would be some program to help low income women get wired.

The Internet is quickly becoming a means of communication and information access. Many jobs are being posted on through the Internet and people are expected to E-mail their resumes. Job interviews are being conducted through the Internet. The opportunities for these women are disappearing even faster than before, and the barriers are becoming more and more. So where does this leave women on low income? I ask.

There are organizations like the Rainbow Women’s Centre that train women on low income to use the Internet. But The Centre is a non profit charity organization with very little resources to keep the women on line when they finish with the training. An Internet drop in Centre would make good sense for many women. It will be less intimidating and also a place to meet other women and learn together. We hope that the Canadian government will make Internet access for low income women one of its priorities in its job creation efforts.

Women’s organizations need to get involved in all aspects of the Internet if low income women are to get a chance at being wired. Many low income women depend on their local women’s organization to help them get access to services, the Internet is becoming one of those services that the women’s organizations have to start looking at, either in their own work or for their clients, because in the long run it will put them and the women they serve a step ahead of the game.

I am one of the lucky women who is wired. I am a much happier person since I got on line. I can communicate with people without leaving my home. I can shop around for information without making those embarrassing phone calls and most of all I have more friends than I have ever had before. But I am also aware that if I loose my job I’ll loose my connection, being a single parent I am quite certain that I won’t be able to afford it. The question is what will I do then? My child is using the Internet to communicate with his class mates to share ideas while they do their home work.

This is a question that many women on low income ask themselves daily, especially if they have some training on the Internet. How can I get access to the Internet? Once I am there how do I stay wired? What do I have to sacrifice to stay wired? Any answers!

So what chance do women on low income have to use the net?

Harriet Amani is Executive Director, Rainbow Women’s Centre, Ottawa. In 1988, she came to Canada as a refugee from East Africa. She speaks seven languages. Harriet studied for and received her diploma in computer programming but could not get a job.

I realised that if I did not do anything with my computer literacy I would lose it. I thought since no company wanted my skills there are women on low income who need the skills and cannot afford it. So we got together with 13 other women and we started a training centre - Rainbow Women’s Training Centre. At first I taught all the computer programs on a volunteer basis until we got some money to employ instructors, and then I started concentrating on management of the organization.

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