Women constitute more than half of humankind and a visible majority of the poor. Women , either solely or largely, support an increasing number of families. They are, without exception, in all cultures, the predominant communicators, caregivers and the main providers of basic services in poor settlements. Hence the importance of their role in fostering a culture of peace and harmony amongst peoples, a culture of gender equality, a culture of sustaining the environment, a culture of mutual support across families, communities and nations. Women and children represent 70% of the world's poor and two thirds of the world illiterate population not to mention that 80% of the world's refugees and displaced persons are also women and children. From time immemorial women all around the world have stayed at home taking care of family and facing the challenges of life. But women have come a long way in terms of education, employment and recognition by society. However, they face different challenges in the modern society. They have to upgrade their skills to be effective homemakers and efficient office workers. Amending societal imbalances through Science and Technology is the key for achieving empowerment of women at all levels of development and management including policy and decision making.

Antrobus (1989) states that empowerment is a process that enables a powerless women to develop autonomy, self control and confidence and, with a group of women and men, a sense of collective influence over oppressive social conditions. She argues that when women begin to understand gender oppression and organize to change ways in which different institutions sanction and facilitate their treatment as second class citizens, then collective empowerment of women will occur in a "redistribution of power within , as well as between societies" and groups ( Bookman and Morgan ( 1988 ), quoted in Antrobus, 1989 ). Within this context Sen and Grown (1987) argued that women's empowerment strategies must aim to "work for change within existing structures of work to transform those structures [….] make it possible to form alliances with other organizations, to assert the need for autonomy, or to work within existing organizations as appropriate [….] enable women to link struggle against gender subordination to those against national, racial and class oppression where these issues are bound together."

Arguably, to empower women is to increase their control over the decisions that affect their lives both within and outside the household; women should be encouraged to bring their vision and leadership, knowledge and skills, views and aspirations into the development agenda from the grassroots to international levels.

Nearly three fifths of the world's population live in diverse social, cultural, economic and political settings, a growing number of women are creating and engaging various forms of media – from mass media, electronic media to traditional and alternative forms – to advance women's empowerment and development. The role of media remains crucial in communicating and popularizing women's issues, concerns, and actions from women's perspective. As a powerful socializing agent, media has become an important tool as well as site for struggle for women seeking to eliminate sexism and violence against women. The rapid development of the information communications technology (ICT) has allowed women to spell out two strategic objectives in regard to women and media that are aimed at promoting women's empowerment and development:

 

  1. 1. increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making and,
  2. 2. promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.

The number of women entering media is increasing and some of them are even holding senior positions in media organizations. Women media practitioners are now visible particularly in radio and television as presenters, announcers, journalists, reporters and newscasters. Some of these women's groups are even considered as government partners in media monitoring as in the case of Cambodia where its Ministry of Information and the Women's Media Centre, an NGO, have launched a campaign against pornography. In India, the Bombay-based women and media group has initiated action against trivializing women's image in the media. The new ICT ( information superhighway) are also serving as media distribution channels by providing women with opportunities to share information and resources and link and network with each other faster. Science and Technology enabled women to be represented in the technical aspects of the information and communication sector. Worldwide, women are putting IT to work for women's rights and empowerment, communicating among dispersed networks, mobilizing action in times of crisis, participating in policy debates and voicing new perspectives. Information and communications are playing a vital role in the women's empowerment movement.

Moreover, information technologies are also being massively used in the political empowerment of young women. The internet is offering opportunities to empower women in politics. The electronic mail offers a kinder, less intimidating environment for less aggressive women to network not only with each other , but with politically engaged others at the grassroots. Cyberspace offers a way to reduce the isolation feminists often experience and provides a place to exchange ideas from many points of view, across boundaries of gender, race, and culture. The internet serves a way for women to contact government officials, to develop a more efficient substitute for the organizer's telephone tree, and to form political coalitions across the country and the world. Women are thus able to compete equally with their male counterparts in political and analytical debates. Women, in the past, were associated with the private sphere-sexuality, natality and the human body but with today's advancing technology women have the possibility of escaping these barriers and penetrating the public sphere via the web. The internet is providing the nearest approximation our society can offer to a mass meeting of feminists.

Science and Technology has brought economic growth and well-being to people. Empowerment of women in the economic and social fields constitute a fundamental step towards the eradication of poverty and development of women of almost all countries of the world. The integration of trade, investment and financial ties with the world economy has altered the economic and social roles of women as business owners, entrepreneurs, managers, workers and family support providers. The continuing growth of the service sector and the declining importance of physical capital in the production process are also bringing new opportunities for women to improve their economic and social status. The activities of women's organizations and networks have contributed significantly in raising consciousness about the need for the economic and social empowerment of women. Since the beginning of this decade, much has been achieved in empowering women in the economic and social fields. An increasing volume of development to financial resources has been devoted to achieving that objective. Consequently, many countries of the world have been able to report increased female literacy and enrolment rates, improved gender equality in education, reduced infant and child mortality rates, declining maternal mortality rates and expanding access to reproductive health services. The participation of women in formal economic activities has also registered a noticeable improvement. This is reflected in the growing labour-force participation rates across all the countries for the period 1980 till now. Female labour-force participation rates have tended to increase more than those for men suggesting that women's economic participation has been a critical feature of the world's quest for the economic empowerment of women. Promotion of access to productive resources and social support systems constitute one of the fundamental building blocks to empower women. Access to productive resources such as credit, technology, infrastructure, marketing links and networking facilities have significantly enlarged opportunities for women to engage in formal economic activities and improve their status. In that regard, promoting access to new and emerging technologies, including information and communication technology has become a powerful tool for women's empowerment . As such, the electronic communication has increased women's productivity, given them more balanced information than the regular news media, enriched their understanding of global issues and enabled them to meet people with similar interests and hare information.

Significant progress has also been achieved in alleviating the worst forms of poverty in many countries through sustained economic growth supported by active and well-targeted public policy. Micro-credit programmes and schemes have become highly significant in empowering women in poverty through mobilization of asset-less women to engage in self-employment and income generating activities. Micro credit schemes have, in many instances, demonstrated that the poor women are bankable and a valuable source for savings mobilization. Apart from the economic impacts, access to micro credit has had far-reaching social consequences for women in poverty.

Marketing to women is another fundamental step towards the empowerment of women. Women account for up to 80% of all consumer spending. That's billions of dollars spent every year with purchasing decision made solely by women. Marketing to women represents a competitive advantage for any organization regardless of size . Women have a different management style than do men. They are less hierarchical, more deliberate in their decisions and are more collaborative than men. Women also tend to view their business holistically , and not only see where it's heading but are patient about how to get it there.

A quick survey of the history of Engineering and Technology might lead one to believe that Technology is the dominion of men. After all, there are few women technologists or scientists whose name resonate like those men such as Faraday or Edison. This is largely because, historically, women have had limited access to education, especially in fields such as sciences and engineering. Like other marginalized groups, however, women have found ways of making their presence in these fields. In their roles as workers, consumers, housewives, and later as scientists and engineers, women have been empowered to help shape the direction technology has moved in. Women have been empowered through education and since then they have been winning Nobel prizes in all categories like Marie Sklodowska Curie. It is recognized that when we educate a women , we educate a multitude , when we educate a man we educate one individual. Because of the traditional gender division of labour in all societies, where the male head of the family is expected to provide the economic means for the family and the women are left at home to give birth to children and care for the daily needs of the family, women then become the main channel communication with the baby from the moment of its birth. Therefore, their impact and influence can be decisive in fostering new attitudes in their sons and daughters, attitudes of living in peace and harmony with diverse racial and religious, fostering mutual respect in gender equity. Women's role as communicators is also enhanced by virtue of the fact that most of the teachers around the world are women. Through science and technology women have been empowered, together with their male partners, to constitute a mighty force to combat hunger, poverty, disease and environmental degradation. The inclusion of women in development is therefore indispensable. Arguably, for prosperity to flourish we need peace and security. Women are harbingers of peace if allowed and empowered to participate in peace negotiating, peace building, peace-keeping and conflict prevention activities, in other words, building and promoting a culture of peace.

Empowerment of women is not the concern of one nation only. There are many players and stakeholders in the aim to reach this millennium goal. Women's empowerment programs are working to empower women through innovative scientific program integrating action oriented literacy, sound micro-finance and micro-enterprise training as well as an understanding of legal rights and advocacy. Women of all countries around the world are being empowered for their livelihoods or well being so that they can organize and be responsible for themselves. Women are being taught skills, through science and technology, they need to improve their lives. Apart from the efforts of United Nations family of organizations, multilateral organizations and civil society, the positive role of women also depends on the supportive attitudes of their local family unit, the local community in each village and town. We just hope that women be empowered at 100% and be equal to men so that both of them may work side by side for a better world of today.