Tackling social norms to reduce the gender digital divide
Thursday 5 Jan 2023 | Connected Society | Connected Women | Digital literacy | English | Gender | India | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Presentation | Research | Resource | South Asia | Webinar |
This session brings together new research by the GSMA and BBC Media Action India, to discuss innovative solutions to reducing the gender digital divide in India, and how to enable more women to take advantage of the many benefits of mobile internet access.
Methodology: The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022
Tuesday 27 Sep 2022 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource |
This document details the methodology behind The ...
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022
Wednesday 15 Jun 2022 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Global | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource |
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022 explores the key barriers preventing women’s equal mobile ownership and access to mobile internet as well as the widening smartphone ownership gender gap.
Reaching and Empowering Women with Digital Solutions in the Agricultural Last Mile
Thursday 12 May 2022 | AgriTech | Case study | Connected Women | Digitisation of agricultural value chains | Financial inclusion for farmers | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Our latest report explores how women’s limited participation in digitised agricultural value chains can only be addressed through gender-inclusive approaches that purposely consider women as well as men.
Digital Inclusion: Driving mobile internet adoption and use
Wednesday 4 May 2022 | Connected Society | Connected Women | Digital literacy | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Mobile internet for women | Research |
Mobile internet connectivity delivers significant economic benefits, reduces poverty and transforms lives, providing people with access to information and services that not only assists them in their daily lives but that they would not ...
Mobile Internet, Well-being and Gender: Understanding the Links
Monday 7 Mar 2022 | Bangladesh | Connected Women | Gender | Ghana | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource | South Asia | Sub-Saharan Africa |
The GSMA Connected Women team partnered with the University of Pennsylvania to develop a multidimensional well-being index to examine the link between mobile internet use and well-being among men and women.
Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021: Methodology
Monday 6 Sep 2021 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research |
This document describes the analysis and modelling undertaken for The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021 and highlights key methodological changes from previous years.
Isabelle Carboni presents the key findings of the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021
Thursday 17 Jun 2021 | Connected Women | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Presentation | Research | Video |
On Thursday 17 June, we launched the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. At the virtual launch event, Isabelle Carboni, Insights Director of the Connected Women programme presented the the key ...
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021
Thursday 17 Jun 2021 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Global | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research |
This flagship report highlights how the mobile gender gap continues to improve in South Asia, but less so in other regions. It explores the key barriers preventing women’s equal access to mobile internet as well as the rise of women’s smartphone ownership.
Safaricom’s Maisha Ni Digital Campaign
Tuesday 20 Apr 2021 | Case study | Connected Women | English | Gender | Kenya | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Sub-Saharan Africa |
This case study assesses the impact of the Maisha Ni Digital campaign on women’s adoption and use of mobile internet as well as the commercial benefits for Safaricom. It also provides key lessons learned and practical recommendations.
Addressing the Mobile Gender Gap in Pakistan
Thursday 8 Apr 2021 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Pakistan | Report | Research | South Asia |
Across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), mobile is the primary way most people access the internet, accounting for 85 per cent of total broadband connections. Despite the importance of mobile, the benefits are not shared ...
Happy International Women’s Day from Mats Granryd
Sunday 7 Mar 2021 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Mobile internet for women | Video |
In a year where connectivity has become more vital than ever, this International Women's Day Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, reflects on the increased importance of closing the mobile gender gap and urges us to take action. ...
Connected Women: Accelerating digital and financial inclusion for women
Friday 5 Feb 2021 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women |
Mobile has the power to transform women’s lives. If the mobile gender gap is not addressed, women risk being left behind as societies and economies digitise. The GSMA Connected Women programme aims to reduce the gender gap in mobile ...
Initiatives Taken by JazzCash to Reach Out to Females
Tuesday 3 Nov 2020 | Connected Women | East Asia and Pacific | Resource | Thrive APAC Shorts | Video |
Explore the initiatives taken by JazzCash to reach out to females.
Driving Digital Financial Inclusion through Female Agents
Tuesday 3 Nov 2020 | Connected Women | East Asia and Pacific | Gender | Resource | Thrive APAC Shorts | Video |
Brad Jones from Wave Money discusses driving digital financial inclusion through female agents.
Vodafone Sakhi: Voices of Impact from India
Tuesday 3 Nov 2020 | Connected Women | East Asia and Pacific | Resource | Thrive APAC Shorts | Video |
Hear how Vodafone Sakhi's features are helping women in India.
Reaching Women at Scale to Accelerate Digital and Financial Inclusion
Wednesday 30 Sep 2020 | Connected Women | Presentation | Resource | Thrive Africa Side Sessions | Video |
This year marks 10 years since the launch of the GSMA Connected Women Programme. Learn more about how to realise the significant commercial and social opportunity of greater digital and financial inclusion for women in Africa, and hear from our mobile ...
Mobile Gender Gap 2020 – Africa in Focus
Friday 2 Oct 2020 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa | Thrive Africa Shorts | Video |
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 examines how the mobile gender gap is changing quickly in low- and middle-income countries, revealing how the main factors preventing women’s equal mobile ...
Webinar on demand:
Top 10 recommendations for reaching women with mobile across low- and middle-income countries
Thursday 16 Jul 2020 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Latin America & the Caribbean | Middle East and North Africa | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | South Asia | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video | Webinar |
In this webinar, the lead author of Connected Women's flagship report, Reaching 50 Million Women with Mobile: A Practical Guide' shared the key insights of the report. Watch the recording to learn our top 10 recommendations for reaching women with mobile.
The Digital Exclusion of Women with Disabilities: A Study of Seven Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Thursday 16 Jul 2020 | Assistive Tech | Bangladesh | Brazil | Connected Women | Gender | India | Kenya | Mexico | Mobile access and use | Pakistan | Report | Research | Uganda |
Edit: This version of the report was revised and uploaded on 20 August 2020. Figure 2 has been corrected in the new version. The GSMA Assistive Tech programme continues to research the mobile disability gap, and the ...
MTN MoMo Pay Merchant Payments: Expanding Female Mobile Money Usage in Ghana
Friday 29 May 2020 | Case studies | Case study | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Ghana | Research | Sub-Saharan Africa |
In Ghana, mobile money has opened access to financial services for millions of people for the first time, strengthening the payment ecosystem and deepening financial inclusion. To encourage the digitisation of merchant payments in ...
Webinar on Demand: Understanding the Mobile Gender Gap in 2020
Thursday 7 May 2020 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Webinar |
How is the mobile gender gap evolving in the Global South? What are the factors that prevent women’s equal mobile ownership and internet use in 2020? And how are men and women’s use of mobile changing as smartphone ownership grows?
Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 Methodology
Friday 27 Mar 2020 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Report |
This document describes the analysis and modelling undertaken for The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 as well as highlighting key areas of methodological change year-on-year.
Safaricom Maisha Ni Digital: Driving Digital Inclusion for Women
Saturday 21 Mar 2020 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Kenya | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video |
In Kenya, women are 34% less likely than men to use mobile internet, and as a result receive fewer life-changing benefits of connectivity. To close this gender gap, Safaricom launched the Maisha Ni Digital ('Life is Digital') campaign.
Celebrating 10 Years of The GSMA Connected Women Programme
Wednesday 18 Mar 2020 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Video |
2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the Connected Women programme. In this video, we celebrate the progress and achievements that have been made so far by our programme and partners, to accelerate digital and financial inclusion for women.
Mobile for Development brochure 2020
Wednesday 4 Mar 2020 | AgriTech | Assistive Tech | Connected Society | Connected Women | Digital Identity | Digital Utilities | Ecosystem Accelerator | Global | Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation | Mobile Money | Resource |
GSMA Mobile for Development has recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Ten years in which we have grown from a simple but powerful idea to a global team of 130 and a portfolio of projects that have now impacted ...
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020
Wednesday 4 Mar 2020 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Global and regional studies | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research |
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 examines how the mobile gender gap is changing quickly in low- and middle-income countries, revealing how the main factors preventing women's equal mobile ownership and internet use are evolving over time.
2019 #FinclusionWeek with Claire Sibthorpe: How does mobile money contribute to the SDGs?
Friday 1 Nov 2019 | Building the financial ecosystem | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Global | Mobile Money | Resource | Video |
In 60 seconds, hear from Claire Sibthorpe, Head of Connected Women and Connected Society at the GSMA, about how mobile money is helping to take action and reduce the gender gap in mobile financial services to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Mobile Gender Gap: Asia
Friday 20 Sep 2019 | Bangladesh | Connected Women | English | Gender | India | Infographic | Mobile for Development | Mobile internet for women | Pakistan | Research | Resource | South Asia | Sri Lanka |
South Asia has the widest mobile gender gap of any region. Addressing this is important in order to deliver the significant benefits of mobile and the internet to women, their families, communities and the economy.
The Mobile Gender Gap: Africa
Tuesday 9 Jul 2019 | Connected Women | Cote d'Ivoire | English | Gender | Infographic | Kenya | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Mobile internet for women | Mozambique | Nigeria | Research | South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | Tanzania |
Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the widest mobile gender gaps of any region. Addressing these gender gaps in Africa is important in order to deliver the significant benefits of mobile and the internet to women, their families, communities and the economy.
Webinar on Demand: Understanding the Mobile Gender Gap in 2019
Thursday 9 May 2019 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Presentation | Video | Webinar |
In LMICs, women are still 10% less likely than men to own a mobile phone and 23% less likely to use mobile internet. The GSMA's Connected Women team hosted a webinar to share the key findings and recommendations from their recent Mobile Gender Gap Report.
Tigo Rwanda: Empowering women agents
Wednesday 19 Apr 2017 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Rwanda | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video |
Tigo Rwanda signed the GSMA Connected Women Commitment Initiative in which they committed to increase the proportion of women in their mobile money customer base. Research has highlighted that lack of trust in digital financial ...
Orange Cote d’Ivoire: Accelerating financial inclusion for women
Wednesday 13 Sep 2017 | Building the financial ecosystem | Connected Women | Cote d'Ivoire | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video |
In 2017, Orange Cote d’Ivoire committed to reducing the gender gap in their mobile money customer base by 2020. We met some of their female customers to understand how mobile money changed their lives.
MWC Barcelona 2019: Connected Women Seminar Recording
Tuesday 26 Mar 2019 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile internet for women | Presentation | Video |
Did you attend the Connected Women programme's seminar at MWC Barcelona 2019? The full seminar recording is now available to watch online. Catch up on what you missed or recap on the important discussions here.
Safaricom: Driving Digital Inclusion for Women in Kenya
Thursday 7 Mar 2019 | Connected Women | Gender | Kenya | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video |
Charles Kare Wanjohi, Consumer Business Unit Director at Safaricom, explains the importance of digital inclusion for women in Kenya and shares insights into what he believes is the key to closing the mobile gender gap. You can also ...
How MoMo Pay Empowers Female Merchants and Customers in Ghana
Thursday 7 Mar 2019 | Connected Women | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Ghana | Mobile internet for women | Mobile Money | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video |
In Ghana there is a gender gap in mobile money adoption and use which means that fewer women than men benefit from this potentially life-enhancing service. In order to help close this gender gap, MTN Ghana, one of the major mobile ...
Vodafone Sakhi: Voices of Impact from India
Monday 19 Aug 2019 | Connected Women | Gender | India | Mobile internet for women | South Asia | Video |
Mobile has the power to make women feel safer. In 2018, Vodafone Idea launched ‘Sakhi’ across India, an exclusive safety service for women, focused on giving them the confidence to live life fearlessly. Vodafone Sakhi’s features ...
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2019
Wednesday 20 Feb 2019 | Connected Women | English | Global | Report | Research | Resource |
This report reveals how the mobile gender gap is changing in low- and middle-income countries, ranks the factors preventing equal mobile ownership and mobile internet use, and outlines the opportunities that closing the mobile gender gap represents.
Mobile Gender Gap Report 2019 Methodology
Friday 31 May 2019 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Global | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource |
This document describes the analysis and modelling undertaken for The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2019 as well as highlighting key areas of methodological change year-on-year.
Transforming Women’s Lives with Mobile: UNGA Panel
Tuesday 23 Oct 2018 | Building the financial ecosystem | Connected Women | Digital Identity | Digital literacy | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Mobile health | Mobile internet for women | Mobile Money | Resource | Video |
‘Transforming Women's Lives with Mobile': A Panel Discussion Hosted by the GSMA at UNGA 2018. A conversation with Yasmina McCarty, GSMA; Elisabeth Biering, Telenor; Sanda Ojiambo, Safaricom; and Anna Falth, UN Women, highlighting ...
The GSMA’s Gender Analysis and Identification Toolkit (GAIT)
Friday 31 Aug 2018 | Bangladesh | Case study | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Global | Resource | Toolkit |
The GSMA's Gender Analysis and Identification Toolkit (GAIT) addresses an issue many mobile operators face: the absence of reliable gender-disaggregated data on mobile ownership and usage. This information gap is an important one to ...
Triggering mobile internet use in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania
Friday 13 Jul 2018 | Connected Society | Connected Women | Cote d'Ivoire | Digital literacy | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa | Tanzania |
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest level of mobile broadband coverage in the world; only 63% of the region’s population lived within reach of a 3G network at the end of 2017. It also has the lowest level of mobile internet penetration ...
A toolkit for researching women’s internet access and use
Wednesday 23 May 2018 | Case study | Connected Women | English | Global | Research | Resource |
While an increasing number of people are now using the internet, the lack of comparable and accurate gender disaggregated data obscures the true extent of the differences in access to, and use of the internet between men and women. ...
A framework to understand women’s mobile-related safety concerns in low-and middle-income countries
Wednesday 28 Mar 2018 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Global | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource |
There is a paradoxical relationship between mobile technology and women’s safety; while access to a mobile can make a woman feel safer, mobiles can also be a conduit for threats and these can act as a barrier to access and usage. Based ...
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2018
Monday 26 Feb 2018 | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile for Development | Mobile internet for women | Report | Resource |
Please note, there is an updated version of the Mobile Gender Gap Report. Download the
Triggering mobile internet use among men and women in South Asia
Friday 17 Nov 2017 | Bangladesh | Connected Society | Connected Women | Digital literacy | English | Gender | India | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Pakistan | Report | Research | Resource | South Asia | Sri Lanka |
Adoption and use of mobile internet is far from universal or equitable, with women, those with less education, rural residents, and the poor accounting for a disproportionate number of non-users. This GSMA Connected Women and GSMA ...
Mapping the mobile money gender gap: insights from Cote d’Ivoire and Mali
Wednesday 26 Jul 2017 | Case studies | Connected Women | Cote d'Ivoire | Digital literacy | English | Financial inclusion for women | French | Gender | Mali | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Research | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa | Video |
Despite significant growth in mobile money over the last decade, there are still wide gender gaps in mobile money account ownership and usage. There is valuable data on the gender gap in mobile financial services, but to better target ...
Accelerating affordable smartphone ownership in emerging markets
Monday 3 Jul 2017 | Connected Society | Connected Women | Digital literacy | English | Gender | Global | Mobile access and use | Mobile internet for women | Report | Research | Resource |
This is a research study into the smartphone ecosystem landscape and business models that drive affordable smartphone access. It is directed at actors interested in enhancing consumers’ smartphone ownership in emerging markets. ...
Using your data to drive growth in women’s use of mobile money services
Wednesday 21 Dec 2016 | Building the financial ecosystem | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Global | Mobile access and use | Report | Resource |
Mobile financial services have proven to be a game changer for financial inclusion. However, women are consistently less likely than men to access these services. This is a loss to women, many of whom have yet to reap the benefits of ...
Mobile phones, internet, and gender in Myanmar
Friday 26 Feb 2016 | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Myanmar | Resource | South Asia |
This report on Myanmar explores the reasons for the gender gap in mobile ownership and low internet use, and recommends actions for stakeholders to overcome these barriers. It is the outcome of a research collaboration between GSMA ...
Women and Mobile Money – Insights from Kenya
Thursday 3 Dec 2015 | Building the financial ecosystem | Connected Women | Country | English | Gender | Kenya | Language | Programme | Region | Report | Resource | Resource Type | Sub-Saharan Africa | Type |
Mobile money is widely cited as the game-changer for financial inclusion and the growth driver for the African mobile industry. However, recent studies have shown that across Africa women are consistently less likely than men to use ...
Swadhaar, Accion, and Airtel Money: Mobile money for female customers in India
Wednesday 21 Oct 2015 | Building the financial ecosystem | Connected Women | English | Gender | India | Mobile access and use | Resource | South Asia |
In January 2013, Swadhaar, a microfinance institution in India, and Accion, an international NGO, launched a mobile money pilot in partnership with Airtel Money and Axis Bank. The pilot aimed to enable Swadhaar’s loan customers to ...
Orange Mali: Reaching women customers with mobile savings and insurance
Monday 19 Oct 2015 | Building the financial ecosystem | Case study | Connected Women | Digital literacy | English | Gender | Mali | Mobile access and use | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa |
In relatively mature mobile money markets, introducing new products could be a valuable way to build customer loyalty while also bringing new customers on board. In Mali, where mobile money customers tend to use their mobile money ...
HNI Madagascar: Information via mobile to tackle gender-based violence
Wednesday 12 Aug 2015 | Case study | Connected Women | English | Gender | Madagascar | Mobile access and use | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa |
3-2-1 is a free, on-demand voice and text-based information service that has attracted over 3 million Airtel Madagascar subscribers since it launched in March 2010. The 3-2-1 Service is provided by HNI, an international NGO, and ...
Uninor: Project Sampark
Friday 31 Jul 2015 | Case study | Connected Women | English | Gender | India | Mobile access and use | Resource | South Asia |
In India a woman is 36% less likely to own a mobile phone than a man, which suggests that women are still an untapped market and represent a major opportunity for mobile operators to increase their customer base and revenue. Telenor ...
BRAC Bangladesh: Partnering for mEducation
Friday 31 Jul 2015 | Bangladesh | Case study | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Resource | South Asia |
This case study tells the story of NGO BRAC Bangladesh partnering with operator Robi Axiata and the British Council to develop and launch an mEducation value-added service (VAS) for adolescent girls. Developed with the support of a ...
Airtel Uganda: A Mobile Money Solution for Savings Groups
Wednesday 17 Jun 2015 | Building the financial ecosystem | Case study | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Resource | Sub-Saharan Africa | Uganda |
“Airtel Weza” is an innovative mobile money solution for savings groups. This case study outlines how Airtel Uganda partnered with Grameen Foundation to design and launch the product. It also provides useful lessons and recommendations ...