Learning Technology Systems in Everyday Life: Women’s Experiences Navigating Refugee Resettlement in the United States

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Higher and adult education in the context of global migration

Proposal

This article presents findings from research on women’s lived experiences with technology in refugee resettlement. Participants include focus group discussions with 22 refugee women and interviews with 26 staff from refugee serving organizations in Washington state. We adopt a feminist socio-technical approach and draw on feminist and transformative methodologies. The research engaged participants in discussions about technology including ICTs, household appliances, transportation technology, and financial services such as ATMs. From our findings, we consider how women learn technology and learn to navigate three socio-technical ecosystems in everyday life: 1) the resettlement process 2) public daily life, and 3) home and community.

In this research, we explore the relationship between access to technology, technology education, and social and economic inclusion for refugee women in the United States. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of the social and technological environments where refugee women live, how women learn to use tools and technology systems, and women’s access to technology education programs through refugee serving organizations. We theoretically situate our work within feminist science and technology studies (feminist STS) and draw on qualitative research with staff from refugee serving organizations and with refugee women in Washington state.

Existing research demonstrates the important role of the social aspects of refugee resettlement, and especially so for women (e.g., Berg, 2021; Correa-Velez et al., 2020; Iqbal, Omar, & Maghbouleh, 2021; Shaw & Wachter, 2022). Due to the increased intersection of social and technological elements of daily life, digital technologies such as social media and mobile phones become “lifelines” by providing social bonds and bridges for refugees (Berg, 2021; Merisalo & Jauhiainen, 2020; UNHCR, 2016). At the same time, financial, linguistic, cultural, and employment barriers limit many refugee communities’ access to technology and to technology education (Dahya, Garrido, Yefimova & Wedlake, 2020). Our work responds to a need to research and understand the role of technology for refugee women in resettlement (Berg, 2021; Merisalo & Jauhiainen, 2020).

Technology has historically disadvantaged women and constructed exclusionary environments that deter and limit women’s learning, engagement, and development of technological tools and systems (Wajcman, 2009). Technology education and access programs do exist for refugees and other groups of migrant men and women through government, non-government, and public services (Dahya et al., 2020). These programs largely focus on information and communication technologies (ICT) such as computers, email, and internet use. However, the impact and uptake of these programs for refugee women is unclear, and inquiry using household appliances and public technologies like ATMs and self-checkouts, etc., is sparse.

In this research, we spoke with women about different types of technology used in their daily lives. While we include digital tools such as mobile phones, we distinctly also focus on technology such as driving cars, using maps, and using household appliances. In this paper, we: (1) provide insight into women’s lived experiences navigating different social and technical environments; (2) frame these findings within the theoretical lens of feminist STS; and (3) discuss the implications of these findings for learning technology through everyday practice and technology education programs. We present our findings through an analytic framework we call “socio-technical ecosystems,” overlapping constructs where resettlement and technology intersect.

The insights offered across this study give a cross-sectional view into refugee women’s technological worlds. Women in this study talked about technology in their lives, past and present. RSO interviews informed us of technology services available, typical beneficiary groups, and their view of refugee women’s needs, challenges, and successes. We have synthesized the results of our analysis into three overlapping socio-technical ecosystems: (1) resettlement; (2) public life; and (3) home and community. These ecosystems are relational, dynamic entities. We also identify key ways in which women learn how to use technology as they navigate these ecosystems: self-learning, learning with family and community members, and learning with organizations that serve refugee communities. Learning is addressed in more detail in the discussion section of the paper.

Women learn to navigate different socio-technical ecosystems as part of their daily lives and activities. In this research, we have drawn on the voices and perspectives of refugee women and RSOs to frame the three socio-technical ecosystems presented. Distinctly, we demonstrate the interrelated and overlapping nature of social and technological engagements refugee women face. In this discussion, we address how women learn to navigate these socio-technical ecosystems and contribute a crucial dimension to feminist STS and to refugee studies.

In our analysis, we incorporate gender power relations and situate them in a particular socio-cultural and political milieu. For example, refugee women in this study take on the majority of domestic labor and their technological literacy needs are largely overlooked in this domain. Approaching the role of technology in the lives of refugees from a gender-based perspective illuminates realities specific to what can be described as ‘women’s work.’ Previous research has identified the importance of ICT in the lives of refugees (e.g. Mikal & Woodfield, 2015; Sabie & Ahmed, 2019; Simko et al., 2018). Our work adds insight to the specific challenges, opportunities, and dynamics identified by refugee women about their daily lives and in relation to how they learn to engage with technology in the everyday.

Within each of the three ecosystems presented throughout this paper, women had to learn to use new tools, adopt existing tools for new activities, and interact with necessary technology systems. Across these ecosystems, we identified three different types of learning under way: (1) self-learning (including trial and error and exploration); (2) drawing on family and community support as needed; and (3) participating in classes or learning from organizations’ staff and volunteers.
This research demonstrates that refugee women are engaged in various forms of technology learning, and it depicts the overlapping socio-technical ecosystems within which they live. In doing so, this work can inform pathways forward in program development for service agencies working to support them. It can also inform how to look at the lives and technological investments women make every day to support their own social inclusion, and that of their families, in resettlement.

Author

• Negin Dahya, Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology - University of Toronto