It is a social responsibility and an imperative of the democratic system for women to have equal access to these tools of communication, and therefore, an equal opportunity to influence the public and foreign policies which affect their lives. In order for democracy to be achieved, different voices expressing different interests must be heard and considered in the formation of policy decisions. The International Struggle of Women in the Mass Media Without exception, women have so far been internationally underrepresented in the mass media. Women Building Their Own Communications Systems Women have started to build their own communications systems with the help of advances in modern technology in spite of the underrepresentation they face in the mass media. Women's computer networking has surged in recent years, enormously increasing the world-wide availability of information for, by, and about women.
Women can now more easily obtain and exchange information.
For a fraction of the cost of making a long distance telephone call, Internet users can send electronic mail all over the world and take part in electronic conferences. In Iran, there are more than 30,000 operating websites. As these new methods of communication are gaining increased popularity among millions of women around the world, their democratic impact on international public and foreign policy-making is of even greater significance. The objective is for people to talk together and to share their ideas to achieve joint human goals. However, women have created hundreds of print media in the past three decades, to which they are adding new networks over the Internet, the new technology which has enabled them to obtain and share a wealth of important information.