The digital gender divide in India and the world have been a key focus of study, primarily because the digital revolution is believed to be a force of good for women empowerment. However, data from a recent study shows that Indian women are still left behind and the digital gender divide is far from being bridged. According to the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022 by GSMA, a global organisation working on digital inclusion, the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic “highlighted the stark digital divide” that continues to plague countries like India.
The report shows that only 26 per cent adult Indian women owned smartphones in 2021 compared to 49 per cent men. Further, only 30 per cent of Indian women had access to mobile internet, while 51 per cent men used mobile internet. The data is alarming especially because there is barely any improvement seen since 2019, according to reports from the previous years. The GSMA’s data shows that in 2019, only 14 per cent women had access to smartphones—a number that grew to 25 per cent in 2020, but barely registered a 1 per cent improvement by the following year. Similarly, only 21 per cent women had access to mobile internet in 2019, which grew to 30 per cent in 2020 and remained at that average in 2021.
The data clearly indicates that the digital divide in India is quite stark indeed. To know more about India’s digital gender divide, click here.
*Image used for representative purpose.