Session
Organizer 1: Alison Gillwald, 🔒
Organizer 2: Andrew Partridge, Research ICT Africa
Organizer 3: Schroeder Zara, 🔒Research ICT Africa
Organizer 4: Relebohile Mariti, Research ICT Africa
Organizer 5: Fabio Senne, 🔒
Speaker 1: Fabio Senne, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 2: Relebohile Mariti, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 3: Claire Sibthorpe, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group
Speaker 4: Martin Schaaper, International Organizations
Alison Gillwald, Civil Society, African Group
Andrew Partridge, Civil Society, African Group
Schroeder Zara, Civil Society, African Group
Theater
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The Theatre layout will allow for optimal viewing of the presentations by a wide audience and the most effective dissemination of the information. It will allow for the key experts for the panel discussion to be situated on the stage as the main focus of the discussions but will also allow for wide audience participation. This will enable a diverse array of perspectives and inputs to ensure a rich discussion on highly pertinent topic for sustainable development. We anticipate a very engaging discussion on what is a very topical and deeply layered topic. As such 90 minutes would be an optimal duration to ensure that we are able to have a discussion of the depth which such an important issue deserves.
What are the most binding constraints which hold women back from being able to equally participate in the digital economy? What policy interventions will create a more even playing field where women are as able as men to derive socioeconomic benefits from digital interactions? Which countries have provided evidence of providing an enabling environment for equal participation in the digital economy, and what were the key factors which led to this success?
What will participants gain from attending this session? In addition to providing the latest demand-side data on digital access and use at the individual level across different regions in the Global South, the session will provide a deeper insight into digital inequalities than is gained from the usual rhetoric on access alone. This will not only provide new knowledge on the state of digitalisation in these regions but will also challenge the conventional manner in which digitalisation progress is currently being assessed and promote a more comprehensive approach which takes cognisance of the multi-dimensional nature of the way in which digital technology assimilates in societies. Through the panel discussion participants will hear from top experts working on policies to promote digital inclusion in the Global South. Participants will therefore witness a rich discussion and have the opportunity to have their own views heard and discussed.
Description:
Demand-side data shows that in addition to significant gender digital access gaps existing in most countries in the Global South, once online women face heightened barriers in the ability to use the internet for purposes associated with economic benefits. This session will encompass three presentations using the pockets of data which is available on digital access and use in the Global South. The first presentation will provide evidence from Africa to highlight that although significant progress has been made in terms of access on the continent, it largely remains limited to social media and entertainment, with very little use for online work, professional services, and e-government services. Moreover, the data shows large gender inequalities in these use cases, with women seemingly less able to use the internet for economic gain. The second presentation will use evidence from Brazil to show how there is a need to incorporate a less binary definition of digital access, considering it along a spectrum of how meaningful the connection to the digital world is. This will again apply a gender lens to show that there are significant gender inequalities in the extent to which meaningful use is able to be realised despite the achievement of gender access equality. The third presentation will provide findings from South-East Asia to show how the digitalisation impacts of COVID-19 differed across gender lines and as a result the ways in which women are digitally substituting in the post-pandemic period differs to that of men. The presentations will then lead into a panel discussion featuring key experts on the policy interventions needed to ensure women are equally able to realise the benefits of digitalisation. This will be led by the onsite moderator, with inputs from the audience to allow for the consideration of a diverse range of views and opinions.
The session will be used to provide a summary document of the presentations and subsequent discussion. The discussion will be structured in such a way as to culminate in agreement on a set of key actions, tied to specific actors and timelines, which will be used to form an action plan to take forward. It is envisioned that this will result in policy impact allowing greater and more meaningful female participation in the digital economy. This will not only result in female economic empowerment but will also avoid further marginalisation of women through the digital economy which is likely to occur if things continue as they currently are. The outcomes from the session will be used to inform future research by participants, ensuring data collected is able to speak to core issues, that data analysis addresses these issues, and that progress is monitored in line with development needs.
Hybrid Format: In addition to having an onsite moderator, we will have an online moderator to ensure that online participants are acknowledged and heard. Space will be made for the online audience to pose questions and comments during the panel discussion. We will also have several support staff assigned to monitor an online chat room where online participants can pose questions. Where possible these questions will then be answered in real time, and where relevant and appropriate the online moderator will raise chat room questions in the panel discussion.
Report
1. To address complex challenges in an evolving digital landscape (shaped by the AI diffusion), there is a pressing need for innovative data collection and analysis methods.
2. Establishing a multi-stakeholder ecosystem is essential for effectively monitoring these emerging trends.
3. There is still a substantial gender gap in mobile internet adoption, with significant regional variations and the gaps are more pronounced in countries with low internet access.
1. Collaborate and partner with different stakeholders to improve the quality and availability of gender-disaggregated data on mobile internet access, use and the barriers that women face.
2. Focus on gender equality, set targets to reach women and explicitly address women’s needs, circumstances and challenges.
Gender inequality in meaningful access in the Global South
Summary report
Moderator: Martin Schaaper, ITU
Speakers: Claire Sibthorpe, GSMA; Fabio Senne,Cetic.br; Relebohile Mariti, Research ICT Africa
Rapporteurs: Relebohile Mariti and Zara Schroeder (Both from Research ICT Africa)
Gender inequality in meaningful access in the Global South: The session is organised by Research ICT Africa and explores the differences between men and women in access and use of the internet in the Global South, sharing critical data and discussing necessary policy interventions to ensure that women equally benefit from digitalisation. The session also emphasised the need for demand-side data in data-driven society to address policy issues and enable economies to achieve universal and meaningful connectivity.
Martin Schaaper, ITU: presented evidence from ITU’s Facts and Figures. Globally, 68% of the population use the internet, however there is a gap of five percentage points between men and women; 70% of male adult population use the internet against 65% of the female population. The gender gap is lower than the global gap in the Americas, CIS and Europe. In other regions, the gap is bigger than the global average. For instance in Arab States, 75% of the male population uses the internet against 64% of the female population. The biggest gap is observed in Africa where 43% of male population uses the internet compared to 31% of the female population. There is a negative correlation between the income level of a country and the gender gap.
Relebohile Mariti, Research ICT Africa: presented findings from the fourth round of the After Access surveys. The After Access survey is the only nationally-representative household survey on digital access and use across multiple African countries prior, during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. For each country surveyed, a nationally representative household and individual survey is accompanied by a microenterprise survey which contains questions on the ways in which microenterprises use ICTs for business activities.
Nearly all internet users access the internet through smartphones, but these devices remain inaccessible to the majority of the population, due to the price of these devices. Smartphone ownership and overall mobile phone ownership are lower for females, limiting their access to internet-based services and opportunities. Internet access has been growing across all countries but the level of access and rate of growth differs across countries. Despite the increase in internet access between 2012 and 2022, more than half of the adult population in Nigeria (68%), Uganda (78%) and Ethiopia (84%) do not have access to the internet.
Whilst the internet access gaps between males and females have been declining, men continue to have more access than women, and the gaps are more pronounced in countries with low internet access. The main barriers to internet access are the prices of devices, the lack of digital skills and the lack of awareness of what the internet is. Despite clear gains in relation to digital access, use of the internet for activities with direct economic benefits (e.g. online work, government services, formal education and shopping) remains very limited. Amongst internet users, males experience wider use of the internet than females and are more likely to use the internet for online work and accessing public (government) services.
Data prices continue to be the primary factor limiting internet use among internet users across all countries surveyed in 2022. In most countries, mobile phone ownership amongst microenterprises is dominated by use of basic phones and few microenterprises use the internet for business activities with significant disparities across genders, locations and formality. Some of the microenterprises that use smartphones for business purposes are not using the internet in their business activities. High data prices continue to be a significant barrier to internet access for microenterprises and individuals who own smartphones but are not actively using the internet.
Fabio Senne, Cetic.br: Celtic.br has been collecting ICT data in Brazil for 20 years. The key message is that there is a need for innovative data collection and analysis methods in order to understand the gaps and identify areas that require policy intervention. There was a fast-changing digital environment in Brazil in the past 20 years. In 2008, 42% of households in Brazil were connected to the internet and this has increased to 98% in 2024 and 48% of internet users were accessing the internet outside home but this has declined to 7%. There is no relevant gender gap in internet access and smartphone ownership in Brazil.
To measure how meaningful internet access is to the connected individuals, Celtic.br has developed a scale based on nine indicators classified into four dimensions: Affordability, Access to Equipment, Connection quality and Usage environment. There are significant differences in meaningful connectivity within the country. Only 22% of the population in Brazil has meaningful connectivity. While there is no relevant gender gap in internet access; 89% of male population use the internet against 88% of the female population, there are significant inequalities in meaningful connectivity with men (28%) more likely than women (17%) to have meaningful connectivity (almost 10 percentage points difference).
There is minimal difference between males and females in the use of the internet for communication and entertainment activities but there are large differences in transactional activities like public services, and financial services. Additionally, there is correlation between connectivity and digital skills, individuals who reported less skills also had lower levels of connectivity. Traditional inequalities exacerbate digital inequalities, there is a positive correlation between education and digital skills.
Claire Sibthorpe, GSMA: Highlighted the trends in mobile internet gender gap. The gap has been narrowing between 2017 (25%) and 2020 (15%). After the COVID-19 pandemic, the progress in digital inclusion of women stalled, as a result the gender gap widened from 15% in 2020 to 19% in 2022. In 2023, the gender gap in mobile internet adoption narrowed for the first time since 2020 with women being 15% less likely to use the internet compared to men. These trends indicate how fragile the progress in closing the gender gap is and there is a need for targeted efforts. Despite that the gender gap has been narrowing, there is still a substantial gender gap in mobile internet adoption, with significant regional variations. The data shows that 265 million fewer women than men use the internet in low and middle income countries. Mobile internet remains the primary way through which most individuals access the internet. Majority of the women who do not use the internet, (60%) live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and these are the regions that have the biggest gender gaps. In South Asia, women were 31% less likely than men to use the internet and this was estimated at 32% in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is a gap in regular and diverse use of the internet even in areas where there is no gap in mobile internet adoption. Most internet users use it daily but it is often for a limited range of purposes. Once women are aware of the internet, their top barrier is affordability of internet-enabled handsets, and lack of literacy in digital skills. Women face more barriers than men because of differences in income and education. Female-owned microenterprises were less likely than male-owned businesses to use the internet for business purposes.
Conclusion:
The analysis highlights the importance of demand-side data in informing on the state of digital access and use and the identification of inequalities therein. Without this data, not only will there be a misalignment between policy priorities and the needs of citizens, but this misalignment will specifically lead to the misrepresentation of marginalised groups. Additionally, to address complex challenges in an evolving digital landscape (shaped by the AI diffusion), there is a pressing need for innovative data collection and analysis methods. Establishing a multi-stakeholder ecosystem is essential for effectively monitoring these emerging trends.
Further action is needed to ensure the mobile gender gap continues to close and these can done by:
- Focusing on gender equality and setting targets to reach women.
- Explicitly addressing women’s needs, circumstances and challenges.
- Improving the quality and availability of gender-disaggregated data on mobile access, use and the barriers that women face.
- Collaborating and partnering with different stakeholders.