Introduction

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), which underwent a revolution with the introduction of the Internet in the late '90s, have had decentralizing effects across nations (Subedi, 2006). As a result, in most developing countries, the weaker sections of society, such as women, despite the problems of poor working conditions, unequal wages as well as lack of access and training, the use of ICTs are contributing to economic development, combating poverty, fighting widespread gender disparity and increasing their participation and competitiveness in improving their overall status (Noble, 1998; Wheeler, 2004). By having access to the ICTs, women can explore, broadcast, and contribute more. They are also serving as a platform for community building and networking among women (Cresser et all, 2001; Nath, 2001; Shade, 1998). Though researchers have also looked at the negative consequences and the greater digital divide, and over emphasized the role of Internet in development, (Luca and Sylla, 2003; Albirini, 2007), extensive research has been done on how ICTs are addressing women's issues in aiding the development process and concerns including privacy and security. Huff (2001, p.43), for example, suggests that “the presence of the Internet can be expected to transform politics and commerce, and will have a major impact on the conduct of government and economic affairs in developing countries."

In India, ICTs have been called the most potent democratizing tool that can put unequal human beings on an equal footing (Pitroda, 2002). The country is at a threshold of development and is rapidly moving towards e-governance with extensive investments in infrastructure. Women are actively being engaged in the process, and particularly in pioneering e-governance projects such as eSeva (Electronic Services- explained in detail later in the article) in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The project provides individuals with access to various C2C (citizen-to-citizen) and C2G (citizen-to-government) services through the eSeva kendrams (centers) located at various places in urban and rural areas of the state. Coordinated efforts of government and private initiatives have enabled women to participate in the e-governance strategies through education, training and persuasion, where Internet is bringing in a slow and steady change in the lives of women. These eSeva centers are small internet kiosks that are run and managed by the women self-help groups. This study examines the project and the involvement of women in working in the e sewa centers, their roles and problems, and how they perceive change as they foray into the use of technologies toward their progress.

The Human Development Report (2005) exemplifies government, non-government and other initiatives to show how projects have addressed employment opportunities for women in developing countries by launching projects leveraging ICTs for developing technological skills and becoming part of the development process. Various issues have been addressed through the postings on the Internet including collecting, posting, and discussing rural women's life histories as a source of development tool (Rubinoff, 2005). In a study in Uganda, access to accurate and timely information by rural women resulted in enhanced economic and social development and the key to programs such as the Poverty Eradication Action Plan and the Plan for Modernization for Agriculture (PMA).(Okello, 2007). Case studies from China, India, Philippines and Sri Lanka reveal how women, both urban and rural, despite several barriers--economic, social or gender-based--are successfully using technologies towards their empowerment, marketing their products, banking and networking (Karan & Das, 2005).Women are effectively using ICTs for expanding their businesses, discussing issues, finding solutions to their personal problems and most importantly to educate themselves (Nath, 2001).

According to the report of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2002) and the Status of Women Commission (2003), the world cannot eradicate poverty or create democratic and economically just societies, unless women gained full access to the information society. According to Brisco, gender-specific inequalities, lack of access to resources and high levels of illiteracy had deprived women of equal access to information and communication technologies.  Denying women access to such technologies limited national production and barred nations from enjoying true competition in the global market. Under the agreed conclusions, increasing women’s access to and participation in the media and ICTs was vital for women’s empowerment (Brisco, 2000a; Status of Women, 2003). The report urged governments, United Nations bodies, international financial institutions and civil society to integrate gender perspectives and ensure women's full participation in national policies, legislation, programs, regulatory and technical instruments in ICTs and media and communications. Along with policies, the economic empowerment of women has been recognized as a central tenet for improving the status and welfare of women. This is also important as women represent 40 percent of the labour force in Asia and the Pacific and two fifth of the overall working populations. Therefore, women’s participation in the Internet economy has to be increased at all levels of skills, from data entry to network management, to IT entrepreneurship. The shortage of qualified skills has offered women the chance to advance rapidly in the technology sector.

India today is one of the fastest growing Internet economies of the world. It has the fourth largest internet market, accounting for approximately 15 per cent of all new traffic online. In a latest report, the total internet users are estimated at 52 million and expected to grow to over 200 million over the next four years (Sarkar, 2008). Despite formidable socio-cultural barriers – firmly rooted in endless frontiers of diversity of language, poverty, low educational levels that are constantly threatening to widen the digital divide, India has managed to emerge as major software and services player and a front-runner among ICT users in the world, and the state’s engagement with development is near total ( Melkote & Reeves, 2001; Bagga, et all, 2005). The Indian government, both at the center and at the state, is taking e-governance seriously and has been continuously endeavoring to provide better services to citizens. The ICT for Development project, being executed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India, with the support of United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is a significant attempt in adopting a holistic and multi-sectoral approach to achieve a breakthrough in the area of Digital Divide. Some of the schemes under the umbrella of the ICT for Development include, Providing Integrated Services in Semi-urban and Urban Areas; ICTs for Enhancing Rural Livelihoods; ICTs for Transforming Rural Governance and ICTs for Women's Empowerment (Sharma, 2004).The objectives of ICT leveraged good governance is enhancing the ability of the people to lead better and dignified lives by freely accessing and evaluating information (Sachdeva & Mathur, 2005).

The concept of e-governance in India began with National Informatics Centers’ efforts to connect all district headquarters through computers in 1980’s, which included connectivity, networking, selective delivery systems and an array of software solutions. Andhra Pradesh was one of the first states to adopt the systems, and eSeva was among the first such projects which offered multiple services in government to citizens’ transactions.

Status of Women in India

Since Independence in 1947, the government and non-governmental organizations have made integrated efforts, with public private partnerships (PPP) in taking extensive measures towards the development of women. Efforts have been made to educate women in the villages, through opening of schools, vocational training centers and also through reservation of seats in the tertiary educational institutes. Women in India are divided into unequal halves; of 368 million women in India, 278 million reside in rural areas, a third of them being illiterate (Census of India, 2001). Interestingly, a majority of women in India work, but few of them are in the paid work force. Many maintain that women’s economic dependence on men impacts their power within the family. With increased participation in income-earning activities, not only will there be more income for the family, but gender inequality could be reduced (Coonrod, 1998). These programs have resulted in increasing the literacy rate among women from 39% in to 55% in 2001 and greater participation in the overall workforce. (Census of India, 2001).

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2001/2001CensusResultsMixedforIndiasWomenandGirls.asp

Women are extensively exposed to the mass media, particularly television and now the Internet, which is allowing them to know of the world around them, their rights and new opportunities. Efforts have been made by incorporating the media in educating people regarding these various programs. This approach will help integrate women more fully into the economic, political, and social mainstream of independent India. According the Jensen and Oster (2003) cable television was impacting the attitudes of women and the authors find an increase in the female school enrollment and decrease in fertility. ICT training may be a very usual and common practice in many countries, but for the women in India it is a major milestone in the development process (Dalal, 2003; Jensen & Oster, 2003; Saibaba, 2004, Shaligram, 2003).

The concept of gender inequality is a common concern all over the world. The same has now acquired new dimensions with the advent of ICTs, which is seen as a potential for women empowerment in India. According to Dalal (2003), it can reduce trade distortions, eliminate poverty, and empower weaker segments including women. Shaligram (2003) perceived ICTs as a tool that will catalyze the 'power shift' from the 'haves' to the 'have-nots' and support the process of women's empowerment. Internet together with the capacity building processes will catalyze the process of mobilization, organize women for collective action and lead to their empowerment. Dalal (2003) in an article stated the problems facing Indian women in the access to ICTs and the need for training as the global scenario has changed and many unexplored areas are now open for encashment. He stated that in India there is an abundance of ‘women entrepreneurs’ who are capable of making their mark at the global level and a big difference with simple training and awareness programs. Over the past few years, over 50 grassroots projects in India are using ICTs for development in India, many of which include women (Kensinton, 2002). One of the most successful programs has been SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association) in Gujarat, India where women are being trained in using ICTs for their businesses and the computers are also enabling their children in gaining computer knowledge and training.

Therefore, the introduction of ICT for development is widely regarded as an approach to empower marginal communities particularly women. Of particular interest from the perspective of this study is Andhra Pradesh’s attempt at involving women self-help groups in the operation and maintenance of eSeva kendrams (eSeva centers) in semi-urban and rural areas. It would be amiss not to mention that Andhra Pradesh has recorded some success in mobilization of women self-help groups in the state. These groups who have been trained to handle computers and the package of government services are thus uniquely positioned as information intermediaries. Of greater significance is that most of the women in self-help groups come from the poorest segments of society, and a vast majority of the citizen beneficiaries too happen to belong to the poorer economic strata of semi-urban and rural areas that make the project beneficial in addressing issues of poverty, economic growth, and in bridging the digital divide.

Research Questions

This study attempts to evaluate a major dimension of women’s empowerment through the participation of women in the eSeva project. It explores the challenges faced by women as information leaders, the direct impact as information providers for the customers/citizens and indirect social impact on the other women in their community. The specific objectives are:

1. To study the eSeva project as one of the pioneer e-governance projects in Andhra Pradesh, India and the role of women in running the eSeva centers.

2. To explore the profile of the women in eSeva centers, their functions and use of ICTs as information providers, the problems faced by women and the levels of satisfaction achieved.

3. To broadly explore the extent to which working at the eSeva enters is impacting the economic and social empowerment of women.

4. The impact on women in using new technologies and thereby the transformation process in improving their social status with the family and community.

Methodology

Pilot Study: The pilot study employed in-depth interviews with some women at eSeva centers in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and revealed interesting facts of how women are working at the eSeva centers, as information providers are creating awareness on employment issues, training for jobs, aiding women in downloading forms and filling up applications. They were also providing extensive resource support by exploring government schemes/avenues for entrepreneurs. The data from these in-depth interviews and two focus group interviews with women helped in developing the variables for the questions in the survey.

Methods Used: The triangulation approach using Case study, intensive interviews and survey methods were employed to collect data for the study. The survey was conducted on a section of 150 women from eSeva centers across two districts of Andhra Pradesh. Information for the case study of the eSeva project was gathered from various primary and secondary sources. Documented information from books and reports as well as from government officials and women working in eSeva centers was collected. While the interviews with six women gave a deeper understanding of the personal circumstances of women and work, interviews with two officials of the project provided details of operations, the training of women in the multiple uses of the Internet and the government services to build information leadership and as a move towards women leading women.

A survey with mainly close ended questions was distributed to women working in eSeva centers. This was administered by two field investigators who personally administered the questionnaires to the women across the two districts. Though the data on the exact number of women working differed, it is estimated that about 400-450 women work for eSeva centers in the two districts of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy. A sample of at least a fourth of the estimated population is investigated for adequate representation for generalization to the entire population (Wimmer and Dominic, 2003). About 15 centers were randomly selected and about 10 questionnaires were distributed at each of the centers. Though over 150 questionnaires were distributed, only 119 were complete in all respects, and constituted the sample for the study. Though ideally it would be best to collect the data through an online or email survey, it was not possible given the procedures for setting up the system for the same.

Operational definitions

Empowerment of women: From the literature review empowerment for the present study may be defined as women’s avenues for economic independence, access to information and technology, education and training in computers and general confidence.

Social Empowerment is defined as the respect in the society that they get as trained professionals using new technologies’, their attitudes toward how the access and use of ICTs help Indian women in improving the social status, respect within the family and community and freedom from gender related restrictive practices.

Development may be defined as the overall economic and social empowerment of women. Their avenues for economic independence, education and training in computers, access to information, better social status and self esteem.

ICT, Women and Development

The use of Internet by women is growing exponentially across the world. ICTs have become a viable tool in promoting gender equality and enhancing women's engagement in both national and international trade. ( Nath, 2001). Brisco (2000b) stated that the Internet has become the mainstream medium and estimated at $30 billion in Asia. These projections are based on the assumption that women workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers in Asian countries have the skills to use the Internet and other related technologies. Women in Asia’s work force must be prepared to work in the Internet world. Without this fully trained and enabled work force, a fundamental bottleneck may throttle the growth rate of Asian economies. Women who have access to the Internet will be in a better situation to start a home-based business allowing them to efficiently market their goods, process orders and perform accounting tasks.

According to Internet Company, MSN, in the Asia Pacific region, the number of affluent and upwardly mobile young women is increasing and they are spending more time online. Results from the latest Pan Asia Pacific Cross Media (PAX) survey conducted by market research firm Synovate, shows that these “alpha females” with higher than average disposable incomes comprise the fastest growing segment of female internet users in the region. Over 74 % of PAX female respondents between 25 and 34 now have access to the internet. Two-thirds of them have broadband connections, representing an increase of 13 per cent from 2005 (Parthajit, 2006).

Another survey carried out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) across 39 countries, showed that 43% of Internet users were females and the developed countries have the highest proportion of women Internet users. In the developing countries, the women users belong to the educated urban minority, but the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that women in telecom jobs worldwide stand at about 27% and are fast increasing.

Research on the use and impact of Internet enabled services and ICTs by women, relate to women’s work, digital imbalances, gender differences and also positive reflections of social and economic development through technological interfaces. The Center for women and Information Technology, UMBC, Maryland, has systematically compiled various articles in journals, books and special issues of journals that provide a comprehensive listing of scholarship that has emerged in this new area of cyber studies on women in the last six years (2000-2006). The bibliography provides a comprehensive list of the projects and also the research done on women and use of technology in education and vocational training, women’s studies listervs, discussion groups enabling women to be better informed give opinions, advise and support women endeavors. 

http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/cwit/cwitbooks.html

ICTs open up a direct window for women to the outside world. Information now flows to them without distortion or any form of censoring, and they have access to the same information as their male counterparts. In Asia as stated earlier, opportunities are being provided for women to benefit from these technologies in their applications in education, training and at work (Regional Human Development Report, 2005; Slater & Tacchi, 2004; Wattegama, 2004; Bansal, 2003; Pichappan, 2003, Karan, 2006). When related to poverty alleviation strategies, ICTs carry the promise of the ease of access to large amount of useful information for the poor. For example, in one of the earlier studies, Samarasinghe, (1993) analyzed the nature, rationale and women micro-enterprises in third world societies and concluded their potential for greater empowerment for women. ICTs are helping businesswomen expand their business in the international market by providing access to market information, collaboration with retail structures and prices, and overcoming the constraint of business intermediaries. Neither high levels of skills or large amounts of capital are required to operate some businesses. For example, Grameen Phone in Bangladesh is a good example of how ICT boost women’s entrepreneurship. The program involves women who buy mobile phones and offer telephony services to the local people for a fee (Jabbar, 2004). Women craft manufacturers in Cambodia are using the Internet to attract customers from around the world to sell their products online. Ethiopia has opened a gift shop that sells online traditional Ethiopian food items and spices produced by women.

Further in a study, Subedi, (2006) stated that despite women's limited access, ICTs have helped women improve their conditions, especially in rural areas by helping them to streamline their activities in farming, rural development, trade, business and industry. There are several similar success stories in South Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East where women entrepreneurs have benefited from ICT (Subedi, 2006, Kalthil & Boas 2003; Karan & Das, 2005). This leads to broadening of perspectives, building up of greater understanding of their current situations and causes of poverty, and initiation of interactive processes for information exchange. Further, such forms of networking open up alternate forms of communication to those offered by the conventional or the government controlled media sources, and therefore catalyses the empowerment process (Nath, 2001; Eyben, 2004; Samarasinghe 1993).

In Asia, the Internet more than any of the other ICT tools has increasingly leveled the playing field in empowering women by providing them access to information and networking opportunities. ICTs for development are widely regarded as an approach to empower marginal communities including women (Mathison, 2003; Slater & Tacchi, 2004; Wattegama, 2004). It has been successful in reaching women who have not been reached by any other media to participate in economic and social progress, make informed decisions on issues and also connecting them to the outside world (Nath, 2001; Shade, 1998).

Further, since the past decade, greater interest has been shown in female mini-entrepreneurship and it is increasingly being recognized as a source of income for poor women (O’Regan, 1992). However, Information and communication technologies by itself cannot be an answer and elixir to all problems facing women development, but it does bring new information resources and can open new communication channels for the marginalized communities” (Nath, 2001). The use of ICTs has been widely regarded as a developmental initiator but there have been reports on the progressive Silicon Valley, where problems of immigrant workers that included poor working conditions as well as large disparities in wage structures surfaced (Ted Smith, 2006). While developing countries are battling problems of Internet usage and associated frustrations, it is interesting to study how Asian countries, which are now experiencing and incorporating these technological innovations in their work and homes, are coping with the benefits and what are the problems that they are facing. Park and Park (2002) have highlighted the problems of gender, and injustice among the immigrant workers in the Silicon Valley. In this study, we examine if similar problems are faced by the Indians and particularly the women in India, given some similar demographic profiles and working conditions.

eSeva in Andhra Pradesh

The 70 million people strong Andhra Pradesh in south India is among the frontline Indian states (provinces) that succeeded in harnessing ICT for the benefit of its citizens through a number of e-governance initiatives. It was called the hotbed of e-government in India, which pioneered the eSeva (electronic service) project that was conceived to provide integrated services in semi-urban and urban areas within a much broader ICT for Development project. eSeva is an extended version of TWINS (Twin Cities Network Services Project) that was initially launched in November 1999 in the twin-cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh so that C2C (citizen-to-citizen) and C2G (citizen-to-government) services are offered seamlessly in a user-friendly and hassle-free manner. This single window system allows citizens to avail all the government services through these e-portals. The eSeva centers provide around 46 services such as  payment of water and sewerage bills, property taxes, commercial taxes, income taxes, phone bills, registration of vehicles, issue of learner driving licenses, transfer of ownership of vehicles, registration of new trade licenses, renewal of trade licenses, registration and certificates of birth and death, collection of small savings, etc (Table-1).

Table-1: Services offered under the eSeva Project

The services are provided within 60 to 120 seconds. The centers operate on working days from 8 am to 8 pm and on public holidays from 9 am to 3 pm. Citizens are not charged for any utility payments. In recent years, services like the payment of electricity/water/telephone bills and transport/property taxes are available on a 24x7 basis on the Web portal. eSeva, being conceptually innovative, has been able to attract the attention and support of several public sector (ICICI Bank, Housing finance company HDFC and UTI) and private organizations to provide their services through eSeva centers. The portal where the kendrams (eSeva centers) are running on is eventually put on the World Wide Web and thus allows access to extensive knowledge and information bank.

Apart from the various services being offered by the government, it also helps streamline the responsibilities of the government departments in delivering these services. According to a report, ‘That may not sound much to be thankful for, but for anyone with memories of the previous system it is a giant step forward. Paying an electricity bill could easily involve a day's wait at a government office where a cross official would demand a bribe for doing his job’. Therefore the project has also improved the transparency and accountability in government operations and to demystify the entire process that governs them. For the women working at these centers, these new models of governance open up avenues for direct participation to gain wider acceptability for this project. The state government wants to extend the network of eSeva centers from the current 119 to 4,600 across the state, one for every six villages See this article with graphics and related items

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_i

Women in eSeva

Of particular interest from the perspective of this study is Andhra Pradesh’s attempt at involving women self-help groups in the operation and maintenance of eSeva kendrams in the urban and rural areas. Andhra Pradesh has recorded some success in mobilization of women self-help groups in the state. These women self-help groups have been trained to handle computers and the packaged services set by government agencies, and are thus positioned as information intermediaries for all government transactions.

An issue of greater significance is that most of the women in self-help groups come from the poorer segments of society. Project organizers reasoned that the lack of empowerment was primarily due to information gaps and once the right access is ensured, a real change in the outlook of these marginal communities can be made possible.

Therefore, number of women involved in the project is high with many women actively being recruited, rigorously trained, not just on the usage of computers but also on the processes that govern the entire project. Apart from the initial training, continuous skill upgrading is necessary to keep them updated on various aspects related to the project. The entire project also depends on the backroom computerization support of the various government departments. Government employees at various levels need to know the information technology needs of their departments and understand the project concepts. It has empowered the women's self-help groups who own and run the kiosks. This change in their status has helped improve their relative bargaining power. According to one of the officials of eSeva, Mr. Saibaba, women are being recruited and trained to work in the eSeva centers and the strategy is working well. There is also a greater involvement of women in recruiting and persuading women from their neighborhoods to join in the project.’ According to one of the women interviewed, ‘as I am doing well, I am also urging other women to join me and come out of the controls of family, work and earn a living'. Another senior woman working at the center stated that, ‘this was a good outlet for one of her friends to get out of family pressure, ill-treatment by in-laws and depression’. Additional income is allowing them to give a better future for their children. Further, they also stated that by working and earning a living, women were being well treated by their families, as they brought in income and also knew how to use computers.

Therefore, in studying the gender equations in ICTs, the women’s ability to participate in the country’s information technology is determined by the low status ascribed to girls and poor IT structures that had so far restricted women’s access to education. The gender gap between men and women has widened because women are less likely than men to receive technical education or be employed in technology intensive work. However, in the past few years, concerted efforts and particularly in the projects such eSeva where women have been actively involved from the inception are gradually changing the very areas of women’s education, technical training and reducing the digital divide. Though much has been written about such projects that have been designed to empower women, there is limited research to actually delve into the lives of women and find out how such initiatives are changing their lives, which was found in the present survey.

Survey Findings

Socio Economic Profile: The survey carried out in the two districts of Andhra Pradesh yielded a return of 119 responses. Most of the women have been working at the eSeva Centers for less than five years with a majority 60.6% having worked for less than three years while 5% have been working for five years or more. A majority of the women are young; about two thirds (61.9%) fall in the age group 20-29 years followed by 25.4% in the age group 30-39 years. Most of the women working at eSeva centers are mostly married (72.3%) and are educated at the undergraduate levels (70.8%), and about 18.6% have acquired post-graduate degrees.

The average income of the women is generally low as 90.5% earn less than Rs.3000 (US $75.00 a month) which is a cause of concern among the women, despite their training in the IT, which is regarded as high in value. (Table-1) For persons in the IT field, and at eSeva centers the wages may appear as a cause for concern given their familiarity and skills with Microsoft Windows (45.9%-92.5%) and accounting software (34.4%) (Table-3). But since they work in the semi government sector, such incomes tend to be low.

Yet according to Mr. Saibaba, there is a gradual increase in the number of women working in eSeva in last few years and more are being trained to work in the mobile eSeva vehicles that will further ease the citizen’s use for government related transactions.

Table 2: Demographic Profile of the Respondents

(N=119)

Table 3: Competency of respondents in software programs

Software program	Freq	%
Microsoft Word	95	87.2
Microsoft Excel	98	92.5
Microsoft Access	34	45.9
Web designing software	6	9.1
Accounting software	24	34.3

2. The services provided at eSeva centers: All the centers that the women are working at provide for payment of utility bills (100%). The other two most frequently provided services are payment of taxes (98%), registration/renewal of trade licenses (97%), issue of birth/death certificates (36.1%), and others (Table 4).

Table- 4 The Frequency of Services used by the customers at eSeva Centers

Table 5 – The Internet Services Used by Women

N=119

3. Internet services used by women: The most frequently used services on the Internet by the women is the search and retrieval of information (59.4%) followed by the participation in online forum discussion (41.2%). The least frequently used services are buying (17.8%) and selling (10.4%) of goods and services online. It may be presumed that Indians believe in physical purchase of products rather than buy online. Perhaps there is a high level of skepticism among the buyers on the dependence and reliability of products bought online as was expressed by a few members during the interviews.

4. Problems of Working in eSeva centers

To gain greater insights into problems faced by women working in the eSeva centers, survey respondents were asked to list down some of the problems they faced at the work place. The findings have been grouped into three categories--wage and benefits related, customer related and work related. As this was an open-ended question, the responses have been divided into three broad categories. (Table 6)

Table-6 List of problems faced by women working at eSeva centers

From Table 6 it can be seen that most of the problems faced by the women working at the eSeva centers are work related. One of the most prominent problems stated by women in the financial transactions is the lack of small notes and change. As most of them deal with cash transactions – payment of bills, fee, etc. – they face an eternal problem of having insufficient change and harassed customers. In India, the system for payments through credit or cash cards is gradually being introduced and hence payments continue to be paid through these centers. Then, there are technical problems – servers and printers in particular and non-availability of uninterrupted power supply. Apart from these, few have also complained over the unhygienic facilities and poor working conditions under which they have to work. These problems hamper work, delay transactions, and incense customer ire. Physical infrastructure deficiencies and communication gap between operators and management have also been identified

Customer related problems include non-cooperation from customers, especially on account of the problems mentioned above besides payment with fake currency, and eve teasing and harassment. They would like proper separation from the customers.

Studies on working women across the world have identified such problems and efforts are made to employ better security systems to control such problems. In the area of wage and benefits, the most common complaint is low salaries and the lack of casual or annual leave. As stated earlier women have expressed their problems of lower wages, although they are trained in IT, but as explained before, eSeva being controlled by the government, the wage structures generally follow the government scales, which tend to be lower compared to the private sectors. Women would also like a risk allowance either on a quarterly or monthly basis.

5. Impact of eSeva on women’s lives

Economic and Social Impact of eSeva:

Women were asked to rate a series of statements on a 5-point Likert Scale to gain a better understanding of their perceptions of the work at the eSeva centers. This was to gauge their levels of economic and social empowerment. The scale was compressed by combining the percentage for strongly disagree and disagree and agree and strongly agree (Table 7).

(a) Economic empowerment: The findings reveal that 52.6% agreed that they have gained economic independence by working at eSeva centers when compared with 36% who do not agree. However, 80.8% do not agree that they are earning more than their friends working in other sectors. About 34.8% felt that they have received adequate help from the government, while 39.3% of the women do not agree that the government has provided them with enough help to work at eSeva centers. However, 72.4% report that there is enough training provided to them to work at eSeva centers, which gives them an edge over others

Table-7 Women’s perceptions of the work at eSeva and impact

(b) Social impact: 80.9% of the respondents enjoy working at the eSeva Centers and have made many friends there. 76.6% indicated that they are now more respected by their family as they are competent in the use of computers and were working for the government. This is a major milestone for women’s status in India given the vast digital divide and the lack of access by women to technical education and work. This was also stated by women during the focus group interviews. However, the response is mixed in respect of gaining confidence in IT skills working at eSeva centers. There is still a need for women to come out of their secondary status and gain more confidence in their abilities.

6. Impact of eSeva on women’s personal lives

89.6% of the women agreed that using eSeva has saved them time and effort in their daily transactions. By using eSeva services, 81% also agreed that they can communicate and share knowledge with other women easily. 84.2% indicated that they will pass on information that may be of use of others and 48.2% report improved decision-making with access to information, 27.2% are not sure while 24.5% disagree. Overall, looked at another way, it is a reflection of information leadership abilities of women manning eSeva centers who help women use information/knowledge to make a difference in their lives. Table-8 presents the findings on the impact of information and services of eSeva centers on women users. It can be seen that the findings are largely of a positive nature. Through a simple Pearson correlation analysis we gauged if there was a relationship between their use of Internet and their enjoyment at work.

Table-8 Impact of eSeva on women’s lives

Table-9 Relationship between decision making, communication and enjoyment at work

Note: * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level

Improvement in Decision making and enjoyment of work From Table 9, we can see that improvement in decision-making of the women using eSeva is significantly correlated to their communication and sharing of information with one another. (Pearson r = 0.194, p < 0.05). The communication and sharing of information amongst the women using eSeva is also significantly correlated to the women’s enjoyment working at the eSeva centers. (Pearson r = 0.266, p < 0.01)

6 .To what extent is eSeva Bridging the Digital Divide in Andhra Pradesh

Improving social status and bridging the digital divide

There was an overwhelming response when women respondents were asked to report their perceptions of the potential impact of eSeva (or eSeva like services) on the lives of women in India in general, and the digital divide within the country. 78.4% of the respondents believe that services like eSeva would help improve the social status of Indian women; 61.7% report that such services would help Indian women earn money and be economically independent; 79.6% think that it would help create opportunities for women in the poorer areas of India; 71.5% said that eSeva like services help narrow the information gap between the rural and the urban areas; and 73.6% felt that such services have enhanced the ease of understanding of government operations even among the not very literate. These responses gives an impression that ICT leveraged information/knowledge can create digital opportunities and make a difference in the lives of Indian women, and over time, help bridge the digital divide. (Table-10)

Table-10 eSeva/eSeva like services: Improving women’s status and bridging the digital divide

Discussion and Conclusions

This study was initiated to understand the impact of ICTs on women in India and their role as information providers in the eSeva project in Andhra Pradesh. It exemplifies how the women’s association with the project contributes to their access to information and use for their own needs as well as that of their community. It also gives them some level of confidence, and more importantly enhances their technical skills. Given the status of the Indian women, particularly those in the urban and semi urban areas, such projects show how effectively ICTs are being leveraged for strengthening their participation, competitiveness and emancipation.

The findings indicate that women’s work at eSeva centers has indeed helped them improve their social status (respected within their family and community), although not satisfying their economic expectations corresponding with their education and experience. Similar to the west and other countries where problems of digital divide, wages and poor infrastructure are impacting people in the Silicon Valley, the same is the case with women at eSeva. Yet, even the discomforting work environment/infrastructure deficiencies that may lead to inefficiencies in the women’s work, and thereby unpleasant encounters with customers are looked as part of the working process.

As information and responses at semi-urban and urban eSeva centers are generally assisted, information leadership abilities of women (Wo) manning eSeva centers is critical. As respondent users have centers to make a difference in their lives. However, a little less indicated, they use the information/knowledge they access at eSeva than half of them admit that access to information has helped in their decision making in their personal lives. Although low, the process of change is likely to be gradual given the context of social status of Indian women, where men continue to be decision makers. What is more important is that over 80% of the respondents have accessed, used and shared information.

The findings also show that a majority of the women are educated to a tertiary level (70.8%) and about 94% of the women surveyed are below the age of 34. It can be argued that with their educational foundation and relatively youthful profiles, they are highly trainable to take up more challenging jobs to further enhance their skill training and moving to higher level jobs. Significantly, these women have a very positive perception of the work they do at the eSeva centers, and understand the importance of such initiatives for their well-being. It would be extremely difficult to introduce or implement any initiatives if the women themselves are not keen or take to them negatively. Women have gained a sense of empowerment by asserting control over resources, officials and, most of all, by challenging men (Jain 1980; 1993)

The responses in the study also give an impression that ICT leveraged information/ knowledge can create digital opportunities and make a difference in the lives of Indian women, and over time, help bridge the digital divide. They would also create opportunities for women in the poorer areas of India, narrow the information gap between rural and urban areas, and enhance the ease of understanding of government operations even among the not very literate. Overall, these are small milestones in the path of progress.

E-governance is a major initiative in Andhra Pradesh is seen in the positive attitudes of self-help group women beneficiaries, who have been encouraged, trained and assisted to set up eSeva centers in rural and urban areas. However, some responses, particularly government’s response in relation to processing applications could indicate that back end computerization problems do exist, but have not been indicated as a serious constraint at the front ends. What is important is that e-governance has made citizen transactions with the government nearly hassle free, transparent and reduced illegal money transactions and exploitation of the poor.

Women are overcoming the gender divide that adversely affects their status, and access to technology. At eSeva, they are effectively accessing and using the benefits of the technology to facilitate their own development as well as that of their families and communities. The government will need to play a significant role in managing some of the problems listed by the women; through improving the infrastructure and increasing the amount of the training for the women working at the eSeva centers. Further periodical research on ICT supported women’s empowerment will go a long way in increasing the economic independence, develop confidence and allow women’s emancipation to a better quality of life. This is a small step as women are forging ahead and are becoming key players in the e-governance initiatives of the country.

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The authors would like to thank Mr. Sanjay Jaju, Municipal Commissioner Hyderabad, Mr.Saibaba and Mr. Biseshwar Das from the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh for lending their support with information and permitting us to collect data from the women in e-seva centers and Mr.Sanjay Kumar for collecting the data from the women.