Introduction

While enthusiasm for the social and economic potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the many countries that constitute ‘Asia’ is high, it has not led to access for a substantial number of people (Ang 2001; Castells 2001; Johnson 2003; Lee & Khatri 2003). Access to ICT in Asia is often limited to private individuals from the higher income bracket working in universities, government, financial institutions, and businesses. Some scholars, in recent works, have commented on the relationship between ‘development’ and ICT as well as the perception that ICT automatically empowers women (Ng & Mitter 2005; Ong & Collier 2005; Reddy 2007). There is also growing evidence of de-skilling, commodification of creativity, and co-implication into established labour relations amongst knowledge workers in information societies (Day 2007; McLaughlin & Johnson 2007; Sullivan 2007).

However, Singapore provides a contrast to many Asian countries due to the diffusion of ICT access throughout its society, which is seen as resulting from strong infrastructure, education, political and commercial leadership of its centrally planned society, and the pragmatic-idealist ideology of many of its Singaporean-Chinese citizens. In the 1990s the government launched programmes for the majority of its citizens to train office workers, to make computers available to those who did not have them in their home, and to provide computers at community clubs and via school-based programs (Gan 1997: 147; Johnson 2003). No programmes were targeted exclusively at women, men, or at minority groups. Rather, via budget allowances of SGD 600 million per year, they were designed to be available for all who wished to participate (Gan 1997).

Singapore is seen in the region as providing a particularly constructive model of the ways that ICT can be integrated into a large community to create an information society. But when gender is used as an analytical prism can mere access to ICT actively challenge and change women's status and socioeconomic opportunities? And what opportunities are open to women to actively create social change via access to ICT? A case study of Singaporean-Chinese female employees’ engagement with ICT via online resources in their workplace and at home, and how they assessed the benefits and dilemmas of ICT in their professional and personal lives, is presented here to explore these questions.