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county libraries have been trained to teach digitalstorytelling. As a result, 105 elderly people havelearned to use a computer, most of them women.The tangible output was a series of 99 “DigiTales”created by trainees, and facilitated by trainers. 34Another empowering project was the onlinecampaign organised by the feminist centre Filia,from the National School of Political Science andPublic Administration, Bucharest: “Say No to OffensiveAdvertising”. 35 In 2012 the group publisheda catalogue of ads considered offensive towardswomen; the booklet is available online. 36No doubt there are many more civil societyinitiatives in Romania aimed at empoweringwomen in general, and in relation to ICTs in particular.However, these projects and actions are notvocal enough and do not reach large audiences.ConclusionsRomania’s level of access to ICTs is improving rapidly,but it is still lagging behind other Europeancountries. The typical digitally excluded person inthe country is older than 55, lives in a rural area,has not completed high school, and is more likelyto be a woman.As the 2000 CEDAW report put it, “Media is notgender-sensitive; therefore it has no contribution tothe definition of the general problems of women inRomanian contemporary society or to the formulationof possible measures and actions for improvingtheir status.” 37 Women and ICTs are still an untoldstory.Online media discourses in Romania are loadedwith gender stereotypes, even when hidden betweenglossy covers for urban, connected digital divas.Behind “room-service feminism” rests a patriarchalsociety, but ICTs offer spaces and tools for change.Action stepsAccording to the Gender Evaluation Methodology(GEM) principles 38 developed by the Association forProgressive Communications (APC), participatorycritical reflection and a methodologically sound,context- and gender-sensitive approach to womenand ICTs are necessary.In Romania, projects like DigiTales and Say Noto Offensive Advertising should be promoted morebroadly and replicated in order to empower womenthrough ICTs.Civil society organisations should stand upmore often and more consistently against genderstereotyping and discrimination against women,with a special regard to vulnerable groups like Romawomen.Local, national and international projects ongender and ICTs should connect through the platformsand tools of the interactive web. New mediacan carry a new, inclusive discourse: bridges arethere. ■34 www.progressfoundation.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=22735 nupublicitatiiofensatoare.blogspot.ro36 www.scribd.com/doc/134511271/Catalogul-reclamelor-ofensatoare37 www.legislationline.org/documents/id/770338 www.genderevaluation.net/sites/default/files/sites/dev.genderevaluation.net/files/GEMEnglish_0.pdf, p. 23.203 / Global Information Society Watch