The Digital Divide Impacting Gender Equality Dr Nancy Addressing the gender digital divide is considered essential for achieving broader gender equality, inclusive economic development, and equitable digital transformation. There is a gender digital divide in girls’ access to and use of digital technology far fewer girls use mobile phones or the internet than boys.the gender and technology team are working to address the gender digital divide, to prevent girls being increasingly left behind.
Bridging The Gender Digital Divide Globally, 70 per cent of men are using the internet, compared with 65 per cent of women. this means there are 189 million more men than women using the internet in 2024. this difference has been decreasing since 2021, when it stood at 277 million. The consequences of this digital gender divide are severe and render forcibly displaced women and girls unable to fully participate in a connected society, access life saving information and resources that are vital for their protection and safety. This digital divide, driven by gender, is pervasive in many regions, and it severely limits women’s opportunities to engage with technology and the broader digital economy. Despite progress in recent years, the digital gender divide persists, with women in low and middle income countries being 15 percent less likely than men to use mobile internet. closing this digital gender gap in access and use of digital technologies is critical for inclusive development.
Closing The Digital Gender Divide Connecting The Unconnected This digital divide, driven by gender, is pervasive in many regions, and it severely limits women’s opportunities to engage with technology and the broader digital economy. Despite progress in recent years, the digital gender divide persists, with women in low and middle income countries being 15 percent less likely than men to use mobile internet. closing this digital gender gap in access and use of digital technologies is critical for inclusive development. The digital gap between men and women is not a purely technological problem, but also a complex economic, social and cultural issue, fundamentally linked to the problem of gender inequality at its roots. Women and girls are in the non digital half. the digital divide impacts gender equality because it becomes harder for women when poverty, and geography is considered, and there is a large proportion of women and girls that do not have access to the internet. Digital transformation provides new avenues for the empowerment of women and girls, but discrimination, negative stereotypes, and social and cultural biases create other challenges for women and girls to thrive in a highly digital economy and society. The gender divide and digital technologies, providing an overview of the gender divide in access, uptake and usage of technological tools and the extent of digital financial inclusion worldwide, in particular regarding the use of ict and digital platforms, mobile phones and digital payments by women.
Comments are closed.