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R
AISING ISSUES OF
inequality, joblessness and poverty should
need no justification. We live in a world of deep seated and
frequently rising inequalities. Two in five people live in
poverty today, struggling to survive on less than USD2 a day.
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates,
close to 185 million people are without a job.
1
A further 550 million
work in poverty.
2
In total, some 2.8 billion people lack decent, digni-
fied and human standards of living when dependants and family
members are added to unemployment or underemployment statis-
tics. The figures become even more tragic in the face of the
unprecedented amount of wealth created in the world economy
over the past few decades. Globalization is evolving in such a way
that what is added to the wealth of the world does not reach those
most in need of it, yet it enhances the advantages of those in high-
skilled, productive, freely chosen and decent employment.
It is essential to remind ourselves that the ultimate goal of any
endeavour by the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) ought to be the elimination of inequalities and the erad-
ication of poverty. Information and communication technology
(ICT) is a means to this end. We must establish a firm link
between ICT and economic growth, else we are doomed to fail in
our commitment to building “a people-centred, inclusive and
development-oriented Information Society” that would contribute
to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
as stated in the declaration that marked the end of the first phase
of WSIS in Geneva.
The missing link between ICT and development is indeed the
connection between ICT and decent work. The eradication of
poverty in a sustainable manner requires the creation of decent
work opportunities for all. As stated in the ILO report
Working out
of Poverty
,
3
work is the best – perhaps the only – sustainable
route out of poverty. By extension, identifying the relationships
between ICT and decent work would be the main goal of the
(ILO), resulting in a successful outcome for WSIS. Building this
link underscores the importance of the social, as well as the
economic, dimension of technological development, which is
encapsulated in the relationship between ICT and the world of
work.
Divides
The differences between the rich and the poor cross many divides.
The digital divide is but one of the various dimensions of inequal-
ity. Information technologies are, like all other technologies, tools.
They are as valuable as the use given to them. This, in turn,
depends on the capacity of users. Giving untrained workers or
managers access to data processing and communications equip-
ment will not improve their incomes, their productivity or their
working conditions unless other actions are taken to bridge the
human capital gap. At the same time, the more gifted will be able
to exploit investments in ICT immediately. Since the well
managed adoption of ICT leads to greater competitiveness, these
tools can widen existing social and economic gaps.
Enterprises are among the critical beneficiaries of ICT. Their
operations depend, in most cases, on existing infrastructure.
There is, in fact, an infrastructure divide that encompasses much
more than communications; there are wide gaps in available
transportation systems; the quality and availability of energy
sources in much of the south is a cause for concern; there are
wide divergences in financial structures and services; there are
large differences in the availability of business development
services and in arbitration mechanisms. There are, in short,
numerous infrastructure-related factors that limit the ability of
enterprises to reach markets or to acquire intermediate goods.
When firms encounter these difficulties they cannot access or
compete in large markets; when this happens, employment
creation is sluggish and the jobs created are neither highly produc-
tive nor well remunerated. Economic activity is frequently
orientated to survival rather than capital accumulation, thus
perpetuating the vicious circle of poverty. The chasm separating
enterprises predates the digital divide. The latter only widens the
gap, creating diverging employment prospects.
It is assumed throughout the WSIS documents that technology
has a positive or, at least, a neutral effect on social conditions: there
are no costs involved. Unfortunately, the introduction of ICT has
real costs and can lead to wider – not narrower – social and
economic gaps. This is true both at individual and enterprise level.
Individuals without information processing skills are at greater risk
of either being made redundant or not finding a job. Enterprises
unable to exploit the benefits of ICT risk losing market share, with
consequences for their profitability, and eventually their survival.
This will lead to job losses and increased poverty. And this can
happen if no efforts are made to help smell and medium sized
enterprises in particular to adapt to new technological paradigms.
Social effects of ICTs
ICT is deeply embedded not only in economic growth, but also
in social development. It touches upon every area of our lives.
As a revolutionary new set of technologies, ICT is unique in many
ways. Owing to its generic nature, ICT has affected all industries,
every service in the economy and many occupations and
employment structures in our contemporary world. Earlier revo-
lutionary technologies, such as electrification or mechanization,
were also pervasive in that sense. The pervasiveness of ICT is,
however, unique in affecting every firm and organization as well
as every function within them, and doing so at an ever more rapid
pace. Most research, development and design work, the majority
of market research, back office activities, and many production
processes have become dependent on the use of ICT. Occupations
have disappeared, to be replaced by others requiring more educa-
tion; linotypists have been replaced by digital page layout
The social dimension of ICT
The International Labour Organization