## 6 Potential Benefits of Internet Use and Initiatives to Reduce the Digital Gender Divide
### Economic Opportunities  
Women's use of ICTs could, potentially, play a part in sustainable rural poverty reduction. Women play a crucial role in food production and distribution. Given access to price and product information, supply chain options for exporters and knowledge that helps improve their earnings and competitive power will result in increased wealth and economic development. Evidence suggests that women's economic advancement promotes overall economic growth. Studies from Cameroon and Kenya [33] have shown that increasing women's control over household inputs and farm income could boost farm yields by as much as 20%. Simulations from Latin America [34] likewise indicate that the elimination of occupational and usage discrimination against women could lead to a 9% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a World Bank [33] study found that Indian states with higher female labour market participation rates enjoyed greater poverty reduction. These studies suggest that \"access to information and knowledge in rural areas has a significant impact on women's social and political participation and women's economic empowerment as agricultural producers. Women can use ICTs and the Internet to access the agri-business supply chain and promote their products for better sales\" [17] (p. 28). In addition to participation in the agricultural sector, there are a number of examples of mothers, disadvantaged and single women using ICTs to actively participate in the knowledge economy. For home-based women, ICTs can, potentially, allow them to find livelihoods that increase their productivity and family income. For example, the members of the eHomeakers grassroot community and the Mothers for Mothers network in Malaysia have successfully pursued tele-exchange and tele-trading careers from home. Moreover, for women juggling family and career, this could mean being able to work from home and fulfil multiple roles of homemaker and co-provider [18]. Moreover, the combination of untapped markets and weak local content offerings has provided a commercial avenue for women to develop knowledge and resources to serve women, their families and communities in ways the male-dominated field has not yet considered [17]. In 2010, a woman co-founded the website SuperMama in Egypt, which offers tools and information in Arabic for new mothers in the Middle East. It is hoped that as women adopt these tailored sites, they will encourage their friends to log on, which will expand the number of new female users and technology entrepreneurs [22]. More female entrepreneurs--and more women who use the Internet simply to find work--means poor communities will be better off: According to one study, women reinvest 90% of their income back into the family [23]. Technology gives women many opportunities for economic advancement. However, without the skills to use the technologies, women can remain on the lowest levels of the economic ladder. As such, a number of initiatives have been introduced to educate women and girls in the use of ICTs. To address women's under-representation in highly-skilled ICT occupations, CISCO systems launched a training initiative to provide women with the skills to use ICTs. The Achieving E-Quality in the IT sector initiative trained women at universities in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon to design, build and maintain computer networks and other ICT applications. This program gives women a competitive edge in the high-skilled labour force [34]. In addition to teaching basic literacy skills, the Women's Annex Foundation [31] has also included Bitcoin (a software based online payment system) literacy in their training. The young women and children enrolled in these programs learn digital literacy skills and crypto currency in parallel.