{"id":17590,"date":"2020-10-22T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T09:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=17590"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:34:30","slug":"equal-access-to-digital-technologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/article\/equal-access-to-digital-technologies\/","title":{"rendered":"Equal Access to Digital Technologies: A Key to Resilient Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog was written in partnership with the World Bank.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mats Granryd<\/strong>, Director General, GSMA
\nMari Pangestu<\/strong>, Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank Group<\/p>\n

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A global pandemic was far from Loretta Ibrahim\u2019s mind when she signed up for the Click-On Kaduna digital skills programme two years ago. The programme has trained nearly 1,200 youth affected by conflict in the Nigerian state of Kaduna to prepare them for opportunities in the digital space.<\/p>\n

When COVID-19 drove many companies to shift to digital technologies this year, Loretta, 23, was ready. \u201cThe Click-On Kaduna experience has been nothing short of spectacular,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause I had the skills already, I just got hired to manage the social media image of two clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initiatives like Click-On Kaduna, launched by the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Kaduna\u2019s state government, are key to bridging the digital gap between women and men.<\/p>\n

Yet, as the world becomes more and more digitally connected, women continue to lag behind men in their use of digital technologies, particularly mobile technologies. That means they are less likely than men to have access to vital services such as cash transfers, medical information, educational content, or employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

Even before the pandemic, women in low- and middle-income countries were 8 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone. And 300 million fewer women than men use mobile internet, representing a gender gap of 20 per cent<\/a>. This digital gender divide is now expected to worsen because of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

The pandemic is underscoring that access to digital technologies is critical in times of crisis. For example, in India, where the gender gap in smartphone ownership is around 60 per cent, researchers<\/a> have found that the majority of underserved women are likely to be excluded from the COVID-19 relief digital cash transfer programme set up by the government. That\u2019s because they either lack access to digital banking accounts or aren\u2019t aware of them.<\/p>\n

To address these gaps, governments and the private sector need to put a gender lens at the centre of their pandemic response. There are promising early examples. Togo, which just appointed its first female prime minister, recently launched Novissi (which translates to \u201csolidarity\u201d), a digital cash transfer programme to help informal workers during the pandemic. Women and men receive an equivalent of $20 and $17 per month, re\u00adspectively, to solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/public-policy\/regulatory-environment\/mobile-energy-efficiencyt basic needs such as food, wa\u00adter, power, and communication services. The programme allocates more money to women because they are more likely to be informal workers and to be responsible for their family\u2019s basic needs such as food and nutrition.<\/p>\n

In Myanmar, meanwhile, Wave Money, a mobile financial service, has partnered with the European Union and UN Office for Project Services to distribute the equivalent of 5 million euros to garment workers impacted by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

The recently launched World Bank programme, Bridging the Gender Divide through Inclusive Digital Development, is another good example, which aims to leverage the EQUALS global partnership for digital gender equality. EQUALS was co-founded in 2016 by ITU, GSMA, ITC, UN University, and UN Women, and is bringing together the public and private sectors to bridge the digital gender divide. The Bank\u2019s new programme will launch and evaluate three digital literacy pilot activities for women and girls in Africa.<\/p>\n

These initiatives are a step in the right direction\u2014yet more can be done by the public and private sectors to bridge the growing digital gender divide as countries address COVID-19. If the mobile gender gap is not addressed directly, women will be left behind as societies and economies further digitalise.<\/p>\n

To tackle the gap requires, first, improving the quality and availability of sex-disaggregated data related to mobile access and use\u2014to better inform strategies, set targets, and track progress.<\/p>\n

Second, we need to address the barriers that women face on access, affordability, knowledge and skills, safety and security, as well as make relevant content, products, and services more available to them:<\/p>\n