Technology: Friend or Foe for Women of Myanmar 1.1.1. The digital gender divide ICTs are not unique in that women are disadvantaged relative to men in terms of their access to all types of modern technology (Cockburn & Ormrod, 1993). On average, women have less income, education, digital skills, time, and mobility, and face religious or cultural constraints that impede their use of and access to information technology. However, women are not homogenous. More accurately, rural women and some women from certain marginalized and stigmatized groups are more disadvantaged as compared to younger, more educated, or urban elite women. Nevertheless, women’s access to and use of ICTs are hampered by factors that go beyond issues of technological infrastructures. Socially and culturally constructed stereotypes, gender roles and relations shape women’s capacity to exploit the potential of ICT as tools for empowerment. As Hafkin and Taggart (2001) have explained, these systemic gender biases in ICT are evident in three ways: (1) women are rarely involved in the needs assessment of ICTs for development; (2) attitudes that high-end information technology ‘is not for women’ who are still being treated as ‘consumers’ or passive recipients of information and not seen or encouraged to be ‘creators’ or active information users/communicators; and (3) there is considerable delay in addressing the limitations faced by women in accessing supposedly ‘public’ information spaces, or even private sector initiatives such as cybercafes. These gender biases are often reinforced in national and international ICT policy making and investment planning because women’s organizations have little or no real opportunity to play an active role in defining the content and shape of cyberspace and removing its gender biases (Hambly, 2005). This means that engendering ICT policy is an area of great importance. Unless gender issues are fully integrated into technology analysis, policy formulation and program development, it is unlikely that women and girls will reap the benefits of ICTs and their applications. 1.1.2. ICTs and women’s empowerment ICTs by themselves will not bring about women’s empowerment or transform the lives of women. They can also be a tool to portray misogynistic images and to sexually exploit women and girls. Previous research (Hughes, 2002) has outlined the multiple forms of new technologies that have been used for the commodification, sexual exploitation, and stereotypical portrayal of women. New technical innovations facilitate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and children because the anonymity they provide 10