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UWI’s Mona ICT Policy Centre and the UWI’s Institutefor Gender and Development Studies MonaUnit. Caribbean studies noted that women werethe dominant mobile phone users and reportedusing them for security, linking family, work andsocial contacts. For some women, it was their “lifeline”.Men used them for networking, profiling andwork tasks.Conclusions and action stepsGlobally and in Jamaica, household workers areembracing ICTs to promote their rights for genderequality and decent work consistent with globaland national development goals. The JHWA with thesupport of its tripartite partners and other stakeholderscan better galvanise the 100,000 domesticworkers using more advanced ICTs to advance thegender agenda for social, economic and politicalequality for women. To propel this movement forwardit is recommended that:• The Ministry of Labour and Social Security concludethe legal reform process that will enableJamaica to ratify and implement C189.• The Ministry of Finance should remove taxesfrom computers and internet-enabled ICT productsto reduce costs and increase access anduse.• The JHWU and its partners should seek additionalfunding support to expand computerand ICT training programmes to enhance theskills, confidence and ability of its members toincrease their use of ICT platforms. This wouldimprove their education, employment options,organising and advocacy to achieve their goals.• The government should facilitate greater crossintegration and collaboration in areas of technologypolicy and gender equality strategiesto enhance women’s development and help redressthe digital divide.• Researchers in gender and development, in scienceand technology and in telecommunicationspolicy in Jamaica and the Caribbean should improvetheir collaboration to promote women’sincreased use of technologies for development. ■150 / Global Information Society Watch