Digital Gender Gap Is Widening as Adoption Rates Slow, GSMA Warns
The world is falling behind in its push to lower the digital gender gap and get more women connected globally, GSMA said in a report released Wednesday. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the numbers from GSMA are critical as policymakers work to close the gap.
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“We have to refocus, we have to double down because I don’t think the problem, this gap, is going to disappear magically,” Bogdan-Martin said on a Wednesday GSMA webcast: “It needs very focused interventions.”
More women are using mobile broadband than ever, but the rate of adoption slowed for the second year in a row in 2022, said Nadia Jeffrie, GSMA insights manager, during the webcast. Women remain less likely than men to own a mobile phone and use key services, such as mobile internet and mobile money, she said. The gender gap hit a low of 15% in 2020, but was at 19% last year, she said: “This gender gap is substantial, and it’s stubborn.” To close the gap by 2030, would require connecting 100 million women every year, which is much faster than last year’s 60 million, she said.
The gender gap varies widely by region, Jeffrie said. Of the 900 million women who aren’t connected, almost two-thirds live in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, she said. In Latin America and the Caribbean the gap is as low as 2%. Women own more basic phones than men and are 17% less likely to have a smartphone, she said. Most men and women who use mobile internet "believe it has an overall positive impact on their lives and use it every day, with little difference between women and men," the report said.
“This year’s data is a clear call to action -- to do more to ensure that women are not further excluded from an increasingly digital society,” Jeffrie said.
“We cannot take progress for granted, and we must act quickly to get ourselves back on track,” said Mats Granryd, GSMA director-general, on the webcast. The report shows more than 300 million fewer women than men in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) use the mobile internet, he said. The report said 440 million women across LMICs don't own a mobile phone.
“If we want to have achieved the sustainable development goals by 2030 we absolutely cannot afford to leave women behind,” Granryd said: “The challenge that lies ahead is a big one, too big for any organization to solve on its own.” Closing the gap is “a daunting task for everyone,” he said.
GSMA’s findings are consistent with ITU research, Bogdan-Martin said, noting she's particularly concerned that the gap increased last year and that adoption rates are slowing.
“We saw adoption go up during the pandemic, and now we’re back to kind of pre-pandemic adoption rates,” Bogdan-Martin said. She also noted concern that fewer women than men are getting smartphones. The barriers include the cost of handsets and digital literacy, she said. “That lack of digital skills … is keeping women and girls offline,” she said: “The rise in online safety and security concerns is also a big barrier to get women online.”
Bogdan-Martin wants special focus on the least developed nations, where only three in 10 women are using the internet. Focus on nations where “women and girls are digitally excluded,” she said.
View From Pakistan
“Unfortunately, we operate in an environment where many people think a woman’s role is only in the household, or as a mother to a family,” said Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, a provider in Pakistan. Women aren’t allowed to contribute to the economy, he said. “Smartphones have a huge impact when it comes to basically providing that level playing field to all individuals,” he said: “Internet and digital inclusion is a great equalizer.”
Jazz has a target that 30% of its subscribers by 2025 will be women, compared with 11% in 2018, Ibrahim said. Jazz had to take that commitment into account in all aspects of its business, including designing the products it offers, service rates and installment plans to pay off handsets, he said.
Affordability and cultural issues are a stumbling block to getting more women connected, Ibrahim said. Jazz introduced a low-cost handset with basic features and lowered the rates on some plans, he said. The carrier has also done extensive outreach, he said. In parts of Pakistan the company needs to explain what the internet is and why it’s safe, he said. “Top-level commitment, the tone at the top” is critical, he said.