Women access to computers and internet: a Malaysian perspective

Abstract

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural society characterized by distinct values and norms about many issues including the role of women in society. Since Malaysia gained independence in 1957, Malaysian women have participated and contributed towards the social and economic development of the country. This was made possible by the policy standpoint of the Malaysian government which considers women are an important pool of resource that can be mobilized towards achieving the national development agenda. After fifty-two years of independence, Malaysia is one of the most developed countries in Southeast Asia. She has seriously geared its effort toward information and communication technology (ICT) by establishing the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996 with the widespread use of computer in Malaysia women have been found to have benefited from the modern technologies. They enjoy greater access to computers and Internet. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes accessibility, delivering access to the computers and internet info-structure to women in Malaysia. A framework for analyzing Malaysian women accessing computers and the internet is presented and discussed.