Approximately 900 million women in low-and-middle-income (LMICs), two-thirds of women in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, do not use the internet, with gender gaps getting up to 41% and 36% respectively.
In a report by GSMA, women, mostly in rural areas and are less educated, agreed they had reduced their use of mobile internet in a 2022 consumer survey.
“Women tend to use their mobile phones for a narrower range of activities and use mobile internet less regularly than men,” the report stated.
This indicates that there is an obvious gender gap in mobile ownership in LMICs as women are 7% less likely than men to own a mobile phone, which translates into 130 million fewer women than men owning one, and “the 440 million women who still do not own a mobile phone are proving difficult to reach.”
Across LMICs, 81% of women now own a mobile phone compared to 87% of men.
According to GSMA, gender gaps in mobile internet use are wider than gender gaps in mobile ownership in all markets. Even in countries with relatively small gender gaps in mobile ownership, such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and India, the gender gap in mobile internet use can be substantial. For example, in Ghana, women are 7% less likely than men to own a mobile phone, but 26% less likely to use mobile internet.
Read also: EXCLUSIVE: Mara ex-employees share inside story about heavy spending, layoffs and future uncertainties
In Nigeria, mobile ownership is 91% for men and 86% for women, representing a 5% gender gap. For mobile internet, that number is 56% for men and 34% for women.
There are several factors that contribute to the mobile gender gap, including:
Gender discrimination: Women are often discriminated against in terms of access to education, employment, and financial services. This makes it more difficult for them to afford mobile phones and data plans.
Cultural norms: In some cultures, women are not allowed to use mobile phones or are discouraged from using them. This is often due to concerns about safety or privacy.
Lack of awareness: This is the second mostreported barrier to mobile ownership, and many women in LMICs are not aware of the benefits of using mobile phones or do not know how to use them.
For example, in Nigeria, 12% of female non-mobile owners reported non-relevance as the main reason preventing them from owning their own mobile phones compared to just 3% of male non-mobile owners.
Affordability: Affordability is an issue for both men and women especially now that inflation keeps getting higher and purchasing power keeps reducing.
Read also: Nigeria’s mobile subscriptions declined by 2.5 million in April 2023
The mobile gender gap has a number of negative consequences for women, including:
Reduced economic opportunities: Women who do not have access to mobile phones are less likely to be able to participate in the workforce or start their businesses.
Limited access to education and healthcare: Women who do not have access to mobile phones are less likely to be able to access educational resources or healthcare information.
Increased vulnerability to violence: Women who do not have access to mobile phones are more vulnerable to violence, as they cannot easily call for help if they are in danger.
Besides, the gender gap in mobile ownership, it is pertinent to assess the regular use of mobile internet and use cases between men and women and understand whether it is meeting their needs on the same level.
The GSMA Mobile Gender Gap 2023 report states that most of the men and women who have adopted mobile internet tend to use it every day, but most of these daily mobile internet users – especially women – only use it for a limited range of purposes.
For example, in Nigeria, 34% of women are mobile internet users but just 13% perform three or more mobile internet use cases every day (compared to 56% and 25% of men, respectively).
In all the survey countries, however, once women own a smartphone, their awareness and use of mobile internet is almost on par with men.
GSMA
The gender gap in mobile smartphone ownership
The consumer survey reports that while more men and women own a smartphone than ever before, the rate of adoption has shown signs of slowing down across LMICs.
An additional 85 million women and 85 million men became smartphone owners in 2022. This means that 55% of women across these countries are now smartphone owners compared to 67% of men.
Women are 17% less likely than men to own a smartphone, which translates into 250 million fewer women than men who own one.
In Nigeria, 17% fewer women own a smartphone but more women own both basic and feature phones. Meanwhile, a significant proportion of women who own an internet-enabled phone do not use mobile internet while others are not even aware of it.
One of the most prominent reasons for this lack of use, as understood by the survey, is the cost of a phone that can access the Internet. “This suggests that these mobile owners are either unaware that their existing phone can be used to access the internet or they felt they needed a better phone to do so.”
27% of the women who own a smartphone do not use the internet but are aware of it, while 5% do not use the Internet and are unaware of it.
Zooming in on the impact
More than 60% of Nigerian women who own a smartphone and use the internet agree that internet use has had a positive impact on their lives, and only about 5% stated that they have experienced a negative impact instead. This suggests that when women start using mobile internet, it improves their lives to a similar degree as men.
There are several things that can be done to close the mobile gender gap, including:
- Providing affordable mobile phones and data plans to women.
- Educating women about the benefits of using mobile phones and how to use them.
The mobile gender gap is a complex issue, especially when we talk about the impact of internet use, but it is important to address. By working to close the gap, we can help to empower women and improve their lives.
Addressing these gender gaps is crucial, as owning a mobile phone, particularly a smartphone, significantly increases mobile internet awareness and use among both men and women.
There are a number of organisations working to close the mobile gender gap. These organisations are working to provide affordable mobile phones and data plans to women, educate women about the benefits of using mobile phones, and change cultural norms that discourage women from using mobile phones.
The GSMA Connected Women Commitment Initiative has so far collectively reached over 65 million additional women with mobile internet and mobile money services. But to fully close the gap, and achieve meaningful progress, all stakeholders, including MNOs, internet companies, policymakers and regulators, and the development community will need increased focus and targeted action.
