"IT skills can be taken beyond the workplace to transform and shape inner-city communities," Kvasny says. "Technology can build people's capacity to learn and to discover their communities' assets."
Minority women also saw their technology training as helping them better connect with their children, who were being exposed to computers in day care centers and schools. Drawn to Biblical imagery and the Exodus metaphor, minority women consider Cyberspace as a promised land of economic betterment and societal inclusion, Kvasny says.
"Technology is like a beacon to these women who live in turmoil, uncertainty and danger; it offers a different version for them," Kvasny says. "However, their enthusiasm masks the reality of the IT workplace. Unlike middle-class women whose job opportunities include positions as programmers and systems analysts, these minority women in my study will work in the service sector. But the new skills will keep them from being left further behind and help them progress."
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
