Post date: Wed, Dec 14, 2016 | | Category: General | |
The internet is considered to be one of the hallmarks of the 21st century, coming with huge promises and expectations. Despite this, several studies have highlighted the disparities of access to this new tool and resource across the globe. While it is more accessible in the developed countries than in the developing world, it appears that the disparities are not only cloistered by location, but also by gender which led experts to talk about a ‘Digital Gender Gap’ (Neagle, 2013)
A digital gender gap refers to an inequality between men and women in access to and use of information and communication technologies. It has a considerable impact on women’s ability to learn, evolve and access information and services. Kenya, which is praised a lot for its dynamic tech scene, still presents elements of a growing divide despite being classified as presenting a “low digital gender gap”(GSMA, 2015).
This week’s number looks at the digital gender gap in Kenya by analyzing different contributing factors such as technical literacy, mobile phone ownership and usage. It focuses more specifically on patterns of access to the internet via mobile phones as it is the most commonly owned device in the country. The distribution of mobile phones has expanded greatly as a result of the spread of other mobile phone services such as M-Pesa, which is a mobile phone based money transfer, financing and micro financing service provided by Vodafone through Safaricom and Vodacom in Kenya and Tanzania respectively.
The following graph shows the use of mobile phones by gender, based on a survey conducted by GSMA in Kenya. Although the size of the sample remains limited, it highlights key dimensions of the state of the digital gender gap in the country.
Graph 1: Use of mobile phones by gender according to the sample survey conducted by GSMA in Kenya:
Source: GSMA Connected Woman, Altai Consulting analysis, World Bank –GSMA intelligence
Considering the above chart, key insights can be inferred concerning the digital gender gap in Kenya.
It should be noted that mobile phone ownership and use of basic functions such as using the Short Message Service (SMS) does not reveal the startling disparities between men and women in access to internet as women are only 2 percentage points less likely to send sms than men according to the graph. The gap is revealed when looking at the levels of internet access through mobile phones for men and women, where women are considerably lagging behind with 18 percentage points at 43%. It is also revealed when looking at the levels of men and women who have never used internet on a mobile phone where an estimated 57% of women have never used internet on a mobile phone against the 39% estimate for men. Overall technical literacy also reveals a digital gender gap of 12 percentage points between men and women with the estimated literacy levels for men at 63% and that for women at 51%.
These differences can be explained by several factors, the most evident remaining the economical one. Indeed, the costs of owning a phone capable of connecting to the internet or the cost of buying internet bundles makes it difficult for women to afford it (GSMA, 2015).The findings also draw attention to the “new gender gap” as described by the GSMA report; women own significantly older phones which is a constraint to their technical abilities and capacities. This suggests that effort needs to be made to ensure that digital growth does not leave part of the population behind due to prohibitive costs. The Intel company’s report on women and the web does give specific insights on how to better reach out to women, for instance by advocating for more market analysis on specific constraints along with targeted subsidies (Intel, 2012).
The number is 57%
Reference:
GSMA. (2015). Connected Women 2015: Bridging the gender gap: Mobile access and usage in low and middle-income countries.
Intel. (2012). Women and the web, Bridging the Internet gap and creating new global opportunities in low and middle-income countries.
Neagle, C. (2013, 09 24). UN report highlights massive Internet gender gap. Retrieved from Network world: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2170200/lan-wan/un-report-highlights-massive-internet-gender-gap.html
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