University students develop platform for women artisans in Yucatán

In order to make the products of women artisans visible for marketing through the Internet, a group of researchers developed the platform Comercia.mx.

The project was conducted by the Da Vinci University (UDV) and the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY) .

Scholar Ana Laura Bojorquez Carrillo

explained that the project would help potentialize the work of women in social enterprises while reaping the benefits of information and communication technologies.

The e-commerce system for women in social enterprises gives beneficiaries the opportunity to access the Internet to make time more flexible, amplify results, improve their sales conditions and be able yo balance their work with other activities, mainly those derived from their family role, informed the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) through its information agency.

Bojorquez Carrilllo explained that this is relevant because the gender gap on the digital world is a reality, especially the so-called " second gap .” Although inequality between women and men decreases with regard to access and basic uses of ICTs , it does not follow the same pattern regarding skills and effective use of technologies.

88 women participated in the research project

at three offices in the state of Yucatan: Mérida, Motul and Peto, representing groups of between two and 18 local women each.

The project was conceived in two stages : The first consists of identifying the problems women face in social enterprises and their situation regarding technology use.

The second stage comprises a diagnosis made through questionnaires, interviews and focus groups that are aimed at obtaining feedback from the women participating in the project .

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