Using this adaptive management approach, WAGE saw unexpected gains and leaps forward in digital capability. The women leaders now have email accounts, can use Google Meet and Zoom to attend virtual meetings, access documents on Google Drive, and use WhatsApp as a connector between them. But perhaps the most unexpected positive effect was the increase in male and family engagement as a result of the digital approach as described below.
Phase 1: Consulting and getting the buy-in of local civil society organization (CSO) partners and women leaders to go digital.
The first step in the process was consulting and getting the buy-in of local CSO partners and women leaders to use digital tools. Initially this was challenging as most families the team works with have one smartphone or internet-enabled device, if that. Women leaders were concerned that using the family’s smartphone for hours each day would cause conflict and potential retaliation within the family. They also were not that familiar with digital tools and not sure how a virtual training would go. To resolve these issues, WAGE provided internet-enabled tablets to each woman leader for their sole use to log on to the trainings. This removed the barrier of compromising training time or negotiating with other household members on who could use the family’s mobile phone or internet-enabled device on a priority basis.
The team was initially skeptical about the use of technology with the women leaders since many had never used a tablet, the Google Meet platform, or WhatsApp. Ultimately the decision to provide each woman her own tablet became a source of empowerment and a gateway to ease her participation and engagement in the training and bring in family support.
Phase 2: Re-designing the original in-person training curricula to work for a digital format.
Next, the Grameen team adapted its in-person 4-day training curriculum to a virtual approach. The training was split up into two 2-hour sessions each week and was delivered slowly over a month-long period. After each training session, women leaders received a homework assignment related to business skills or financial literacy which they had to do jointly with their husbands or family members. Women working together and planning their business with their husbands was essential to the male engagement component of the program. The Grameen team itself rehearsed the virtual training methodology for the most effective yet, simple training delivery before taking the virtual sessions to the women leaders.
Phase 3: Building the digital literacy (digital skills) of women leaders to use digital tools to both attend trainings and access additional information after the trainings.
Next, the team trained the women leaders and local CSO partner staff in digital literacy skills to attend remote meetings and access documents on the Cloud. Some of the key topics the team trained the women leaders in included:
- How to use a tablet
- How to access and use meeting controls on Google Meet and Zoom
- How to open a Gmail account, check and send mail, and open documents on Google Drive
So what were the results of women leaders owning tablets and having the digital skills to log on to virtual meetings, email and Google Drive? First, the women now had exclusive ownership of the tablet and it became a source of empowerment that enabled them to participate in the training sessions, at their convenience. At the same time, as the women learned how to use the tablet and maximize the use of technology, they demonstrated an increase in confidence. For many of the women leaders, this technology and shift to digital mode was something completely new and unfamiliar to them, but they embraced the challenge, overcame the knowledge and mindset barriers, and allowed it to become a source of empowerment and opportunity.
Perhaps the most unexpected benefit of virtual meetings was the impact on male engagement. Family members would gather around the tablet and listen in on the training sessions, and increasingly became interested in the topics being discussed. Thus, the virtual meetings became an organic way to engage family members, especially men, and facilitated increased support from family members for the women to take part in these trainings. The men in the household became more aware of the challenges that women face in their business, on technical aspects, as well as having to manage multiple roles. They also regarded the courses as practical and useful, which gave the women leaders the necessary boost and support they needed. The support that they received from home was demonstrated in their seamless participation in the trainings, level of engagement during the sessions, and in the submission of home assignments that were done in collaboration and consultation with the men in the family.
Phase 4: Build on this foundation by incorporating the use of social media networks.
Simultaneously as the training sessions were being conducted, the women leaders were communicating on a regular basis through a WhatsApp group that was set up by Grameen and created specific to their district. The WhatsApp groups were initially created to send out home assignments and for coordinating training logistics. Grameen and local CSO partners also took advantage of the WhatsApp groups to start sharing additional information on trainings, connections to government offices and projects, and linking women to additional business development resources.
The women leaders then took the lead and began to use the WhatsApp groups to discuss much more than just training-related issues. For instance, the women asked each other about business challenges, solicited advice, and exchanged information about additional resources within the community. Language was not a barrier to communication. WhatsApp became a positive space to motivate women and increase their support network. When the women were able to meet in-person, many of them felt like they knew each other well because of the connections that they had made by engaging in the WhatsApp groups. The WhatsApp group continues to be one of the enablers of economic empowerment of these women leaders, through increased interaction, fostered dialogue, sharing of business-related information, and even marketing of their products and services. WhatsApp has empowered the women leaders by helping them concentrate on the opportunities and services available to participate in social, economic, and political activities, and to expand their freedom to form solidarity groups and build social capital.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the process of going digital to adapt to COVID led to unexpected levels of empowerment and new digital skills for the women leaders WAGE Sri Lanka works with. What could have been a hindrance to the WAGE Sri Lanka project turned into an opportunity to empower women and increase male engagement within the household. These women leaders are now equipped with the technology and skills needed to share these virtual training modules with other women entrepreneurs in the community and empower them to grow their businesses too.
