GSMA：2023年移动性别差距报告

TheMobile

GenderGap

Report

2023

Copyright©2023GSMA

GSMA

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobileecosystemtodiscover,developanddeliverinnovationfoundationaltopositivebusinessenvironmentsand

societalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothatpeople,industry,andsocietythrive.Representingmobileoperatorsandorganisations

acrossthemobileecosystemandadjacentindustries,theGSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthree

broadpillars:ConnectivityforGood,Industry

ServicesandSolutions,andOutreach.Thisactivity

includesadvancingpolicy,tacklingtoday’sbiggest

societalchallenges,underpinningthetechnologyandinteroperabilitythatmakemobilework,andprovidingtheworld’slargestplatformtoconvenethemobile

ecosystemattheMWCandM360seriesofevents.

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GSMAIntelligence

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesourceofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecasts,and

publisherofauthoritativeindustryreportsand

research.Ourdatacoverseveryoperatorgroup,

networkandMVNOineverycountryworldwide–fromAfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemostaccurateandcompletesetofindustrymetricsavailable,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,updateddaily.

GSMAIntelligenceisreliedonbyleadingoperators,

vendors,regulators,financialinstitutionsandthird-

partyindustryplayers,tosupportstrategicdecision

makingandlong-terminvestmentplanning.Thedataisusedasanindustryreferencepointandisfrequentlycitedbythemediaandbytheindustryitself.

Ourteamofanalystsandexpertsproduceregularthought-leadingresearchreportsacrossarangeofindustrytopics.

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GSMAConnectedWomen

TheGSMA’sConnectedWomenprogrammeworkswithmobileoperatorsandtheirpartnerstoaddressthebarrierstowomenaccessingandusingmobileinternetandmobilemoneyservices.Connected

Womenaimstoreducethegendergapinmobileinternetandmobilemoneyservicesandunlock

significantcommercialopportunitiesforthemobileindustryandsocio-economicbenefitsforwomen.

Formoreinformation,pleasevisit

/connectedwomen

AtIpsoswearepassionatelycuriousaboutpeople,

markets,brandsandsociety.Wedeliverinformationandanalysisthatmakesourcomplexworldeasierandfastertonavigateandinspiresourclientstomake

smarterdecisions.

Withastrongpresencein88countries,Ipsos

employsmorethan16,000peopleandhastheability

toconductresearchprogrammesinmorethan

100countries.FoundedinFrancein1975,Ipsosiscontrolledandmanagedbyresearchprofessionals.

Forthisstudy,IpsosworkedwiththeGSMAasa

fieldworkpartnerand,assuch,isnotresponsiblefortheanalysisorconclusionsinthisreport.

ukadi

frmtheBritishpeople

ThismaterialhasbeenfundedbyUKAidfromtheUKGovernment;however,theviewsexpresseddonot

necessarilyreflecttheUKGovernment’sofficialpolicies.

sweden

sverige

ThisdocumenthasbeenfinancedbytheSwedish

InternationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency,Sida.Sidadoesnotnecessarilysharetheviewsexpressedinthismaterial.Responsibilityforitscontentsrests

entirelywiththeauthor.

Authorsandcontributors

Leadauthor:NadiaJeffrie

Contributors:KalvinBahia,IsabelleCarboni,

DominicaLindsey,ClaireSibthorpe,JakubZagdanski

Fieldworkpartner:Ipsos

Published:May2023

TheMobileGenderGapReport20233

Contents

Introduction

4

Keyfindings

6

Infographic

8

Definitions

11

Themobilegendergapin2023

12

Thejourneytomobileinternetuse

18

Thegendergapinmobileownership

22

Understandingthebarrierstomobileownership

24

Thegendergapinsmartphoneownership

26

Thegendergapinmobileinternetuse

Understandingbarrierstomobileinternetadoption

32

38

Understandingwomen’smobileuse

46

Recommendations

50

Appendix1:Barrierstomobileownershipandmobile

internetadoption

54

Appendix2:Mobileusecases

64

Appendix3:Methodology

66

Endnotes

69

4TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

Introduction

Inanincreasinglyconnectedworld,itiscritical

thatnooneisleftbehind.Inlow-andmiddle-

incomecountries(LMICs),mobilephonesare

theprimaryandoftenonlywaypeopleget

online,especiallywomen.Morethan3.4billion

peopleinLMICsnowaccesstheinternetona

mobilephone,1

accountingfor85%ofbroadbandconnectionsin2022.

2

Inall12countriessurveyedforthisreport,femaleinternetusersweremore

likelythanmaleuserstoaccesstheinternet

exclusivelyviaamobilephone.Atotalof61%ofwomeninLMICsnowusemobileinternetand81%ownamobilephone.

Whilemorepeopleareusingmobileinternet

thaneverbefore,accessisunequalandthere

aresignificantgendergaps.Womenarestilllesslikelythanmentoownamobilephoneanduse

keyservices,suchasmobileinternetandmobilemoney.Thisisparticularlytrueforwomenin

LMICswhoarethemostunderserved,includingthosewithlowliteracy,lowincomes,wholiveinaruralareaorhaveadisability.

Alarmingly,forthesecondyearinarow,women’sdigitalinclusionhasslowedacrossLMICs.Inlastyear’sreport,wehighlightedthatthemobile

internetgendergapdidnotnarrowand,insomecountries,widened.Thiswasthefirsttimethis

hadhappenedsincetheGSMAbegantrackingit,andwastheresultofwomenacrossLMICs

adoptingmobileinternetataslowerrate,in

contrastwithcontinuedhighergrowthratesformenin2022.Ourlatestdatashowsthatwhilemorewomenareusingmobileinternetthan

everbefore,theirrateofadoptionhasslowed

evenmorethanlastyear.Men’srateofadoptionhasnowalsoslowed.Slowerratesofadoptionhavestalledprogressondigitalinclusionfor

allinLMICs,leavingasubstantialandrelativelyunchangedgendergapinmobileinternet.Moreeffortsareneededtotacklethisslowdownin

digitalinclusionandthedigitalgendergap.

Addressingthemobilegendergapprovides

significantsocialandcommercialbenefits.

Mobileandmobileinternetcanbelifechanging,providingaccesstocriticalinformation,servicesandopportunitiesfromanywhere,including

thoserelatedtohealthcare,education,financialservicesandincomegeneration.Connectivity

isalsovitaltoachievingtheUnitedNations

SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),

includingthoserelatedtogenderequality,health,educationandfinancialinclusion.

GSMAresearchhasfoundthatclosingthe

gendergapinmobileinternetuseinLMICscoulddeliveranadditional$700billioninGDPgrowthoverfiveyears.

3

In2020alone,theAlliance

forAffordableInternet(A4AI)estimatedthat

thegendergapininternetuseresultedin32

LMICsmissingouton$126billioninGDP.The

commercialopportunityfortheprivatesector

isalsosubstantial.Forexample,theGSMA

estimatesthatclosingthegendergapinmobileownershipanduseinLMICsby2030would

generate$230billioninadditionalrevenuefor

themobileindustry.

4

1.GSMAIntelligence,Q42022.

2.InternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU)estimatesfor2022.

3.GSMAIntelligence,2019.

4.ThisestimateisbasedonclosingthegendergapinmobileownershipanduseinLMICsfrom2023to2030.

Enablingwomentoaccessandusemobile

phonesiscrucial.ItcanalsohelpwomenacrossLMICsbettercopewiththeongoingeconomicandsocialdisruptionsbroughtaboutbythe

pandemic,climatechangeandotherglobal

crises.Forthosewhoownamobilephone,

thebenefitsarecleartothem.Innineofthe

10countriessurveyedbytheGSMAin2021,

between66%and97%offemaleandmale

mobileownersreportedthathavingamobile

phonehelpswiththeirday-to-dayactivities,

makesthemfeelsaferandgivesthemaccesstousefulinformationtheywouldnototherwisebeabletoeasilyobtain.

5

InthissixtheditionofTheMobileGenderGap

Report,weconsiderthelatestdataonwomen’smobileaccessanduseandhowitischanging

atregionalandcountrylevelsinLMICs.We

drawattentiontothisimportantissueandsharerecommendedactionsforstakeholders,includingmobilenetworkoperators(MNOs),internet

companies,policymakersandregulators,andthedevelopmentcommunity.

Thefindingsofthisreportdrawontheannual

GSMAConsumerSurvey,whichthisyearhad

morethan13,800respondentsfrom12LMICs,andforthefirsttimeincludedEthiopia.Theseface-

to-face,nationallyrepresentative

6

surveyswereconductedbetweenSeptemberandDecember2022.Analysisofotherresearchanddatafrom

theGSMA,aswellasotherorganisationsthat

investigateandtrackthemobilegendergap,alsoinformthefindingsofthisreport.

TheMobileGenderGapReport20235

Thereportprovides:

Thelatestfiguresandtrendsongendergapsinmobileownership,

smartphoneownershipandmobileinternet

inLMICs

Areviewofthebarrierstomobileownership

andmobileinternetadoption

Newdataonmen’sandwomen’sperceptionsoftheimpactofmobileinternetontheirlives

5.Theexceptionwas46%offemalemobilephoneownersinPakistanwhoreportedthatamobileprovidesaccesstousefulinformationtheywouldnototherwisebeabletoobtaineasily.Incontrast,thiswasreportedby66%ofmalemobilephoneownersinPakistan.

6.ExceptforEthiopia,wherenointerviewswereconductedintheTigrayregionandsixotherzonesduetolocalconflictandsecurityconcerns.Theseareasrepresent12%ofthepopulationofEthiopia,therefore,thesamplewasrepresentativeofthe88%ofthepopulationwholiveoutsidetheseareas.

6TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

Keyfindings

1.Morewomeninlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesareusingmobileinternetthaneverbefore,buttheirrateofadoptionhasslowedforthesecondyearinarow.

While61%ofwomenacrossthesecountriesnowusemobileinternet,only60million

womenstartedusingmobileinternetin2022comparedto75millionin2021.Men’srateofadoptionalsoslowedin2022,highlighting

thatprogressondigitalinclusionforall

hasstalledacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountries.

2.Thegendergapinmobileinternetremainsrelativelyunchanged–womeninlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesare19%lesslikelythanmentouseit,whichtranslatesinto

around310millionfewerwomenthanmen.

Thisyeartherehavebeennosignificant

changesinthemobileinternetgendergapinanyregion,includingSouthAsiawhere

therehavebeennotablechangesinthepastfewyears.

3.Toclosethemobileinternetgendergap

by2030acrosslow-andmiddle-income

countries,anestimated810millionwomenneedtoadoptit.Thisisequivalentto100millionwomenayear,onaverage.However,ifthegendergapremainsunchanged,

forecastssuggestthatonly360millionmorewomenwilladoptmobileinternetby2030.

4.Thereare900millionwomeninlow-andmiddle-incomecountrieswhoarestillnotusingmobileinternet,almosttwo-thirdsofwhomliveinSouthAsiaandSub-SaharanAfrica.Womenintheseregionsremaintheleastlikelytousemobileinternetcomparedtomen,withgendergapsof41%and36%,respectively.

5.Womenweremorelikelythanmento

reporttheyhadreducedtheiruseofmobileinternetin2022,especiallythosewholiveinruralareasandarelesseducated.Acrossallsurveycountries,womenalsotendtousetheirmobilephonesforanarrowerrange

ofactivitiesandusemobileinternetless

regularlythanmen.

6.Thegendergapinsmartphoneownershiphasstalledforthesecondyearinarow,

andwomeninlow-andmiddle-income

countriesare17%lesslikelythanmento

ownasmartphone.Thistranslatesinto

around250millionfewerwomenthan

men.Whilemoremenandwomenowna

smartphonethaneverbefore,therateof

adoptionforbothhassloweddownslightly.55%ofwomennowownasmartphone

comparedto67%ofmen.However,once

womenownasmartphone,theirawarenessanduseofmobileinternetisalmostonparwithmen.

TheMobileGenderGapReport20237

7.Theunderlyinggendergapinmobile

ownershipacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountrieshaschangedverylittlesince2017.Womenacrossthesecountriesare7%lesslikelythanmentoownamobilephone.

440millionwomenstilldonotownone

andareprovingdifficulttoreach.Thetop-

reportedbarrierstomobilephoneownershipareaffordability,literacyanddigitalskillsandlackofperceivedrelevance.Womenwhodonotownaphoneweremorelikelythanmentoreportthatbeingabletousesomeone

else’sphonemadethemfeeltheydidnotneedoneoftheirown.

8.Womenarestilllesslikelythanmento

beawareofmobileinternetacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountries.Althoughawarenesshasgrownonlymarginallysince2019,gendergapshavebeennarrowing

consistently.Inmostsurveycountries,

awarenessisrelativelyhighbutdoesnotalwaystranslateintoadoption.

9.Formobileuserswhoarealreadyaware

ofmobileinternet,thetop-reported

barrierstoadoptingitarestillaffordability(primarilyofhandsets),literacyanddigitalskills,andsafetyandsecurityconcerns.

Millionsmorewomenthanmenfacethesebarriersbecausetheyareoffline.Women

alsotendtoexperiencethesebarriersmoreacutelyduetosocialnormsandstructuralinequalities,suchaslowereducation

andincome.

10.Mostpeoplewhousemobileinternetbelieveithashadapositiveimpactontheirlives

anduseiteveryday,withlittledifference

betweenwomenandmen.Thissuggeststhatoncewomenusemobileinternet,itimprovestheirlivestoasimilardegreeasmen.Inall

surveycountries,between53%and91%

ofmobileinternetusersreportapositive

overallimpactontheirlives.Despiteconcernsassociatedwiththeinternet,inalmostall

surveycountrieslessthanafifthofmobile

internetusersreportedanegativeoverall

impactontheirlife.

11.Closingthegendergapinmobile

ownershipanduseinlow-andmiddle-

incomecountriesby2030woulddeliveranestimated$230billioninadditionalrevenuetothemobileindustry.Thevastmajority

ofthisopportunitywouldbederivedfrom

closingthegendergapinmobileuse.

Thetop3barriers

preventingwomenfromowningamobile

phoneare:

INLOW-ANDMIDDLE-INCOMECOUNTRIES:

Progresshasstalledinclosingthegendergap

WOMENARE

7%

440M

womenstill

donotownamobilephone

lesslikelythanmentoownamobilephone

insmartphoneownership

Womenare17%

lesslikelythanmentoownasmartphone

250M

fewerwomenthanmenownasmartphone

MOBILEOWNERSHIP

1.AFFORDABILITY

2.LITERACYANDDIGITALSKILLS

3.PERCEIVEDRELEVANCE

Millionsmorewomenthanmenfacethese

barriersbecausetheydonotownamobilephone

MOBILEINTERNETADOPTION

Thetop3barriers

preventingwomenwhoaremobileusersandawareofmobileinternetfromadoptingitare:

ACROSSTHE

12

SURVEY

COUNTRIES:

1.AFFORDABILITY(PRIMARILYOFHANDSETS)

2.LITERACYANDDIGITALSKILLS

3.SAFETYANDSECURITY

Mostwomenwhouse

mobileinternetreport

thatithashada

positiveimpacton

theirlivesandthat

theyuseiteveryday

Millionsmorewomenthanmenfacethesebarriersbecausetheyareoffline

Closingthegendergap

inmobileownershipanduseby

2030

wouldgenerateanestimated

$230BN

inadditionalrevenue

forthemobileindustry

8TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

TheMobileGenderGapReport20239

INLOW-ANDMIDDLE-INCOMECOUNTRIES:

61%

ofwomennowusemobile

internet

BUT

women’srateofmobile

internet

adoptionhasslowedforthesecondyearinarow

Men’srateof↓

also

slowed

overthepastyear

adoption

THEMOBILEINTERNETGENDERGAPREMAINSRELATIVELYUNCHANGED

Toclose

themobile

internet

gendergapby

2030

100M

WOMENAYEAR

ONAVERAGEMUSTSTARTUSINGIT

Womenare19%

lesslikely

thanmento

usemobile

internet

Thismeans

310M

fewerwomen

thanmenusemobileinternet

ATOTALOF

900M

womenarestillnotusingmobileinternet

WOMEN

weremorelikelythanmentoreport

REDUCINGTHEIRMOBILEINTERNETUSE

IN2022

ALMOST

2/3

LIVEIN

Especiallythosewholiveinrural

areas

andarelesseducated

SouthAsiaand

Sub-SaharanAfrica

10TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

TheMobileGenderGapReport202311

Definitions

GENDERGAP

Thegendergapinmobilephoneownershipandmobileinternetuseiscalculatedusingthefollowingformula:

Gendergapin

ownership/use(%)

(%ofmalepopulation)(%offemalepopulation)

Maleowners/users-Femaleowners/users

=

Maleowners/users

(%ofmalepopulation)

MOBILEOWNER

“Mobilephoneowner”and“mobileowner”areusedinterchangeably

inthisreporttomeanapersonwhohassoleormainuseofaSIMcard

ormobilephonethatdoesnotrequireaSIMandusesitatleastoncea

month.ThevastmajorityofSIMownersalsohavesoleormainuseofa

handset(amedianof93%acrossthesamplecountries,rangingfrom87%to98%).

FEATUREPHONEOWNER

Amobileownerthathassoleorprimaryuseofafeaturephone.Afeaturephoneisaninternet-enabledmobilephonewithasmallscreenandbasickeypadwithseverallettersperbutton.Afeaturephonemayhavesome

pre-installedappsbutdoesnothavetheabilitytodownloadappsfromanonlineappstore,suchasGooglePlayortheAppStore.Smartfeaturephonesareasub-groupoffeaturephonesandarenotrecordedasa

separatecategoryinthesurvey.

SMARTPHONEOWNER

Amobileownerthathassoleorprimaryuseofasmartphone.A

smartphoneisamobilephonewithatouchscreendisplay,anadvanced

operatingsystem(AndroidoriOS)andtheabilitytodownloadappsfromanonlineappstore,suchasGooglePlayortheAppStore.

MOBILEINTERNETUSER

Apersonwhohasusedtheinternetonamobilephoneatleastoncein

thelastthreemonths.

7

Mobileinternetusersdonothavetopersonally

ownamobilephone.Therefore,theycanbenon-mobilephoneowners

whousemobileinternetbyaccessingitonsomeoneelse’smobilephone.

7.Respondentswereaskedthequestion:“Haveyoueverusedtheinternetonamobilephone?Pleasethinkaboutallthedifferentwaysofusingtheinterneton

amobilephone.Justtoconfirm,peopleareusingtheinternetontheirmobilephoneswhentheydoanyofthefollowing:visitinternetwebsites(e.g.Googleor

Amazon),visitsocialnetworkingwebsites(e.g.Facebook,Twitter,YouTube,Weibo),sendemailsorinstantmessages(e.g.WhatsApp,Snapchat,WeChat,LINE)ordownloadapps.”Mobileinternetusersarethosewhoanswered,“Yes,Ihaveusedtheinternetonamobilephoneinthelastthreemonths.”

Womenare

7%

%

lesslikely

thanmentoownamobilephone

lesslikelytouse

mobileinternet

12TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

Themobilegendergap

in2023

In2022,therewasnonotablechangeinany

regionalgendergapsinmobileownershipor

mobileinternet,withthewidestgapsstillin

SouthAsiaandSub-SaharanAfrica.Womenare41%lesslikelythanmentousemobileinternetinSouthAsiaand36%lesslikelythanmen

todosoinSub-SaharanAfrica.Inthewake

oftheCOVID-19pandemicandtheongoing

economiccrisis,thisfurtherslowdownindigitalinclusionisperhapsnotsurprising.However,

itisastarkremindertofocusattention,actionandinvestmentonaddressingthedigitaldivide,particularlythedigitalgenderdivide.

Duringtheglobaleconomiccrisisin2022,

women’slevelsofmobileownershipandmobile

internetadoptionstayedthesameorincreasedin

mostsurveycountries.However,similarchanges

inmen’slevelsofadoptionmeantnoprogress

wasmadeinclosingthegendergapsinmobile

ownershipormobileinternetadoption.

MobileownershipinLMICsremainsunequal.

Womenare7%lesslikelythanmentoowna

mobilephone,whichtranslatesinto130million

fewerwomenthanmenowningone.Thisgender

gaphasseenlittlechangesince2017(seeFigure

1)andthe440millionwomenwhostilldonot

ownamobilephoneareprovingdifficulttoreach.

Thegendergapinsmartphoneownershipalso

remainedrelativelyunchangedin2022.This

gendergaphadbeennarrowing,butitwidened

slightlyin2021to18%andnowstandsat17%

(seeFigure1).Addressingthesegendergapsis

crucial,asowningamobilephone,particularlya

smartphone,significantlyincreasesmobileinternet

awarenessanduseamongbothmenandwomen.

Themobileinternetgendergapnarrowed

substantiallybetween2017and2020,from

25%to15%.However,progressstalledin2021

whenthegendergapwidenedslightlyto18%.

Unfortunately,thegendergapremainsrelatively

unchanged,withwomennow19%lesslikely

thanmentousemobileinternet(seeFigure1).

Althoughbothwomenandmencontinuedto

adoptmobileinternetin2022,theydidsoatan

evenslowerratethanin2021.AcrossLMICs,an

additional60millionwomenadoptedmobile

internetin2022,but310millionfewerwomen

thanmenareusingmobileinternetand,by

extension,benefitingfromit.

TheMobileGenderGapReport202313

21%

18%

17%

14TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

Figure1

GendergapsacrossLMICsandbyregion,2017–2022

GENDERGAPSINMOBILEOWNERSHIPANDSMARTPHONEOWNERSHIP

AcrossLMICsoverall

21%

19%

16%

11%

10%

9%

8%

8%7%

201720182019202020212022

GendergapinoverallmobileownershipGendergapinsmartphoneownership

Gendergapinmobileownership

Gendergapinsmartphoneownership

26%

59%

28%

60%

SouthAsia

22%18%

59%

41%

17%

46%

15%

14%

42%

26%

14%

28%

Sub-SaharanAfrica

14%

13%

27%

29%

13%

30%

13%

28%

18%

9%

MiddleEast&NorthAfrica

9%

9%

8%

18%

19%

18%

10%

15%

9%

14%

1%

1%

EastAsia&Pacific

2%

2%

2%

1%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

11%

11% 10% 5%

5%

4%

Europe&CentralAsia

2%

1%

1%

-1%

-1%

-1%

2%1%1%1%2%2%

7% 5%

3%3%

4%

5%

LatinAmerica&Caribbean

201720182019202020212022

7%

10% 8% 4%

4%

6%

EastAsia&Pacific

7%

7% 5%

5%

5%

5%

Europe&CentralAsia

201720182019202020212022

5%1%1%

0%

1%2%

LatinAmerica&Caribbean

TheMobileGenderGapReport202315

GENDERGAPINMOBILEINTERNET

AcrossLMICsoverall

23%

25%

20172018

20%

18%

15%

19%

2022

20192020

Gendergapinmobileinternet

2021

Gendergapinmobileinternet

66%

57%

SouthAsia

Sub-Saharan

Africa

35%

41%41%

35%

37%35%

35%

36%36%

50%

MiddleEast&NorthAfrica

20%

20%

20%18%

15%

15%

Source:GSMA,2023

MobileownershipisdefinedashavingsoleormainuseofaSIMcard(oramobilephonethatdoesnotrequireaSIM)andusingitatleast

onceamonth.

Mobileinternetuseisdefinedashavingusedtheinternetonamobilephoneatleastonceinthelastthreemonths.Mobileinternetusersdonothavetopersonallyownamobilephone.

Thegendergapinmobileownership,

smartphoneownershipandmobileinternetusereferstohowmuchlesslikelyawomanistoownamobile(orasmartphoneortousemobileinternet)thanaman.

Regionalaverageswerecalculatedfrom

country-leveldatabasedonsurveyresults

andmodelleddataforadultsaged18+.Someofthepercentagesshowminordifferences

frompreviousreports.Thisisduetochangesinthegroupofcountriesdefinedas“low-

andmiddle-income”andthefactthatour

modellingusesthemostup-to-datedatafromoursurveyandthird-partysources.

16TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

Country-levelgendergapsinmobileownershipandmobileinternetadoption

WiththeexceptionofmobileownershipinEgyptandMexico,womenwerelesslikelythanmentoownamobilephoneandtousemobileinternetinallsurveycountries(seeFigure2).Gendergapsinmobileinternetusearewiderthangender

gapsinmobileownershipinallmarkets.Even

incountrieswithrelativelysmallgendergapsinmobileownership,suchasGhana,Kenya,NigeriaandIndia,thegendergapinmobileinternet

usecanbesubstantial.Forexample,inGhana,womenare7%lesslikelythanmentoowna

mobilephone,but26%lesslikelytousemobileinternet.

Gendergapsinmobileownershiphavenot

changedoverthepastyearinmostLMICs.Thisisthecaseforeightofthe10LMICsforwhich

wehavepreviousdata.ThetwoexceptionsareEgyptandSenegal.InEgypt,women’smobileownershipincreasedfrom76%to81%while

men’sremainedat83%,resultinginasmaller

gendergap.TheoppositeoccurredinSenegalwherethegendergapwidenedduetowomen’smobileownershipremainingat77%butmen’sincreasingfrom83%to89%(see

Spotlight:

MobilegendergapsarewideninginSenegal

).

Gendergapsinmobileinternetusealsoremainedrelativelyflatinsixofthe10countriessurveyedin2021and2022.Theothercountrieshaddifferenttrends.InKenyaandBangladesh,thegender

gapinmobileinternetnarrowedslightly,while

inIndonesia,mobileinternetadoptionincreasedamongwomenbutnottothesameextent