Huge increase in global mobile penetration, but gender gap remains

via Flickr ©  ITU Pictures (CC BY 2.0)

via Flickr © ITU Pictures (CC BY 2.0)

  • Increased mobile access for women, but in an increasingly connected world, they are still being left behind, says GSMA
  • Ensuring digital and financial inclusion for women is critically important: when women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive
  • Closing the mobile gender gap could be an important driver of economic growth

 

According to the GSMA’s 2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report, 80 per cent of women in low- and middle-income countries are now mobile owners. That’s great, but according to the GSMA it could be better - there is still a  gender gap in mobile ownership and it’s not closing. Women stubbornly remain 10 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone in low- and middle-income countries.

In fact the effort to close the gender gap has actually stalled and in some circumstances seems to have got worse. Women in south Asia are 28 per cent less likely to own a mobile than men whereas last year that same metric was 26 per cent  - it’s a small change and might be accounted for by changing smartphone market conditions, but it is worrying.

So why this apparent lack of progress? Is a 10 per cent gap, given the existing and entrenched disadvantaged position of  women in many societies, just a gap that the world has to live with?

The GSMA research found that women reported affordability, literacy and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, as well as safety and security concerns as the top barriers that needed to be addressed in order for the gap to be trimmed further.

The factor that sticks out is ‘affordability’. This is surely where individual operators in the countries most affected have to step up and do a bit of rebalancing. Introduce tariffs and family plans, text-only services, whatever it takes to narrow that gap.

Full GSMA press release below

 

GSMA study reveals 250m more women became mobile owners in low- and middle-income countries since 2014

London : A new GSMA study reveals that 80 per cent of women in low- and middle-income countries are now mobile owners. According to the GSMA’s 2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report released today, mobile is the primary means of internet access in these markets, where 48 per cent of women use mobile to get online.

However, despite the growth in connectivity, the gender gap in mobile ownership is not closing. Women remain 10 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone in low- and middle-income countries, and 23 per cent less likely than men to use mobile internet. The mobile gender gap varies by region and country but is widest in South Asia where women are 28 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile device and 58 per cent less likely to use the mobile internet.

“We are seeing significantly increased mobile access for women, however in an increasingly connected world, women are still being left behind,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. “While mobile connectivity is spreading quickly, it is not spreading equally. Unequal access to mobile technology threatens to exacerbate the inequalities women already experience.”

Taking Action to Address the Mobile Gender Gap

Mobile operators are taking action to address the mobile gender gap and leading an effort to drive digital and financial inclusion for women. As part of the GSMA Connected Women Programme’s Commitment Initiative, nearly 37 mobile operators from 27 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America have committed to reducing the gender gap in their mobile money or mobile internet customer base by 2020. These operators have provided over 16 million additional women with access to digital and financial services since 2016.

“Ensuring digital and financial inclusion for women is critically important, as we know that when women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive,” added Granryd. “Reaching the 432 million women in these countries who are still unconnected will require concerted effort and coordination from the mobile industry, as well as policy makers and the international community.”

Women highlighted affordability, literacy and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, and safety and security concerns as the top barriers needing to be addressed in order to further decrease the mobile gender gap.

Opportunity for Significant Economic and Commercial Growth

The GSMA found that closing the gender gaps in mobile ownership and usage represents a substantial commercial opportunity for the mobile industry. Over the next five years, low- and middle-income countries could gain an estimated additional $140 billion in mobile industry revenue if operators could close these gender gaps by 2023. The GSMA also found that closing the mobile gender gap could be an important driver of economic growth. These markets could also add an additional $700 billion in GDP growth by 2023.

The GSMA’s 2019 Gender Gap Mobile Report is available at: https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/connected-women/the-mobile-gender-gap-report-2019/

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