[This interview was originally posted on the Girls in Tech website]

In March, the State Department took a Women’s Technology Delegation to Liberia and Sierra Leone to explore how technology can increase opportunities for women and girls. Eight leading women innovators and entrepreneurs were chosen to attend, among them Trina DasGupta, who currently works as the mWomen Program Director for the GSM Association, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry.

I was able to interview her about her experience on the delegation and what insights she brought back with her.

Key Takeaways:

• While both countries face numerous development challenges, certain enabling technologies offer a lot of potential for progressive change.
• Women and girls in both countries hold additional potential as change-agents in both countries.
• A few statistics
  • Gender gap in mobile technology access: A woman in Liberia is 43% less likely than a man to own a mobile phone. In Sierra Leone a woman is 44% less likely.
  • Limited internet access, regardless of gender: In 2009, there were 20,000 internet users in Liberia and 14,900 in Sierra Leone; their populations are approximately 3.5 million and 6.5 million respectively, meaning less than one percent of either country is able to access the internet.
  • Quality of Life: In Sierra Leone, 1 out of 8 women die during childbirth; in Liberia 85% of the population is unemployed; in both countries literacy rates are low and access to electricity is rare.
• There were several solutions and action-items that came out of the delegation’s work.
• Technology is not a silver bullet, but it can enable change.
• With several leadership examples and many demonstrations of perseverance, strength and dedication, it seems clear that women are the driving force for positive change in both countries.
• These woman know how to sing!

KB: What was the purpose of the delegation and how does it fit into the goals of GSMA mWomen?

TD: Liberia & Sierra Leone face great socio-economic challenges from a lack of basic infrastructure to complex issues with health, education and economic growth. However, the U.S. State Department believes both countries have much potential for positive change, especially with the help of the right enabling technologies. The aims of the week were to bring together influential women from both the public sector and private enterprise to explore these challenges more deeply and to explore ways technology and tech-based tools can play a transformative role in specifically helping women and girls in these countries.

The aims of Women’s Tech Delegation are closely aligned with those of the GSMA mWomen Program. In February 2010, the GSMA, in partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, identified a gender gap in mobile phone ownership in the developing world – 300 million fewer women than men own mobile phones and the potentially life changing tools that they can provide, such as access to health services, banking, employment opportunities and educational tools.

The GSMA mWomen Program that was created in response to this research is an unprecedented global public-private partnership between the worldwide mobile industry and the international development community to address the barriers to women’s mobile phone ownership in low-to-middle income countries and to deliver life-changing services, such as health care and education, at scale via mobile. The program aims to reduce the mobile phone gender gap by 50%, bringing the benefits of mobile phone ownership to 150 million women over three years, by creating an enabling market environment.

KB: What were some of the observances you saw on the ground while in Sierra Leone and Liberia?

TD: Women’s life circumstances are incredibly challenging in both countries. Though it’s been ten years since the civil war, the war’s effects are still quite pervasive. In Sierra Leone, 1 out of 8 women die during childbirth; in Liberia 85% of the population is unemployed; in both countries literacy rates are low and access to electricity is rare.

Basic infrastructure is the greatest need – roads, electricity, healthcare facilities, schools. So our challenge on the Women’s Technology Delegation was to think through how technology can be useful when basic needs are most critical.

KB: Were there any differences between the two countries in terms of technology usage, access of the status of women?

TD: According to our analysis at the GSMA mWomen Program, a woman in Liberia is 43% less likely than a man to own a mobile phone. In Sierra Leone a woman is 44% less likely.

With regards to the Internet, access is incredibly limited for everyone, not only women. According to the World Bank, as of 2009 there were 20,000 internet users in Liberia and 14,900 in Sierra Leone; their populations are approximately 3.5 million and 6.5 million respectively, meaning less than one percent of either country is able to access the internet.

KB: What were some action-items or solutions that came out of the trip?

TD: In Liberia, the Women’s Technology Delegation has committed to explore piloting a center that will train and connect youth, specifically girls, to micro-work via the internet. For female micro-entrepreneurs, we are working with the mobile phone industry to try to expand the number of female retailers of cell phone products, such as pre-paid airtime.

In Sierra Leone, the delegation met with a dynamic group of female entrepreneurs who own small-to-medium enterprises. We are working with this group to explore starting a business incubation center that will help them connect to each other for networking, support and sharing best business practices to help drive economic opportunities for women. Training on using technology as a key business tool will be a part of the center design.

In both countries, we are exploring SMS and voice-based information services for health and civic engagement, as well as sharing best practices on how mobile phones can be used to help incentivize increased literacy. We are also trying to help develop an enabling regulatory and market environment to expand access to the internet and mobile phones for the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

KB: There seemed to be a lot of discussion about access to technology and education. What are the major hurdles to more widespread use of technology and opportunities for education? Likewise, were there any specific solutions that you saw being implemented or that the delegation was able to come up with?

TD: One of our main takeaways from the trip was that technology is not a silver bullet to solve the development challenges we witnessed in Liberia and Sierra Leone, but it can enable change. In the realm of education, technology-based solutions are challenging, as literacy rates are low. SMS and most internet tools require some level of literacy for impactful engagement. The alternative is voice-based models, and currently there are few proven models on how to teach someone to read simply using voice messages without some sort of teacher or guide to support the learner.

Where we ended up in the discussion was to share with the various government ministries and other education stakeholders a successful example from Senegal. The Jokko Initiative leveraged women’s desire to send SMSes as a way to increase demand for literacy and numeracy. In this way, the mobile phone was used as a tool to incentivize literacy programs.

KB: How do women and girls fit into the equation in these two developing countries?

TD: In both countries, we met with women from all walks of life – entrepreneurs, weavers, teachers, nurses, students, government officials – and we were genuinely moved by their perseverance, strength and dedication after years of war tore apart the region. Our meetings with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Her Excellency First Lady of Sierra Leone Mrs. Sia Koroma demonstrated the inspirational leadership at the top of both countries, and women from the diaspora returning back to their home countries from the U.S. showed us endless courage and love for the betterment of their people.

These women and others showed us that although there are many challenges in Liberia and Sierra Leone, women are the driving force for positive change. Women helped achieve peace in Liberia and are leading the re-building in both countries, along with the men who actively support women’s leadership roles. Women are managing their families, making up the large percentage of micro-entrepreneurs, running for political office and they are determined to be the positive change they want to see in their world.

KB: On a looser note, what was the best thing you ate? The most memorable moment? Favorite local art?

TD: One of the most powerful parts of our trip was a visit to the Annie Walsh Memorial Girls School. The girls at the school are the future of Liberia and West Africa, and each girl we spoke to was passionate and determined about their future. The choir treated us to the most incredible performance that nearly brought me to tears; it truly was unbelievably beautiful and moving. Here’s a short video from the performance taken by Maria Thomas, who was also part of the Women’s Technology Delegation: