A woman uses her phone while selling bananas. Some 80 per cent of women
in low- and middle-income countries own mobile phones. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Kenya and Tanzania are among low and middle-income countries
that have significantly managed to narrow the gender gap in mobile and
mobile Internet penetration as more women become mobile phone owners.
A
new GSMA study shows that in Kenya, where mobile penetration stands at
an average 84 per cent, the gender gap in terms of mobile ownership is
only six per cent.
The gap, however, is huge for Internet use at 38 per cent, largely due to low penetration levels, which stand at 34.5 per cent.
In Tanzania, where mobile ownership stands at an average of 81.5 per cent, the gender gap is at 11 per cent.
For
Internet use, the gap is at 52 per cent, informed by the fact that only
26 per cent of the population has access to the Internet via mobile
phone.
Other African countries that have substantially
closed the gender gap in mobile ownership and mobile Internet access are
Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa.
Access
According to the 2019
Mobile Gender Gap Report, 80 per cent of women in low and middle-income
countries are now mobile owners, with the devises being the primary
means of Internet access for 48 per cent of women.
“We
are seeing significantly increased mobile access for women. However, in
an increasingly connected world, women are still being left behind,”
said GSMA director-general Mats Granryd.
He added that
while mobile connectivity is spreading fast, it is not doing so equally,
which threatens to exacerbate the inequalities women already experience
because they are 10 per cent less likely to own a mobile phone and 23
per cent less likely to use mobile Internet.
Besides, female mobile owners spend on average 17 per cent less than men on mobile services.
The
report shows that recent growth in the mobile industry has driven an
unprecedented rise in digital inclusion in low-and middle-income
countries, made possible by factors such as affordability, literacy and
skills, safety and security and relevance.
Since 2014,
mobile operators have connected 700 million new subscribers and another
one billion have gained access to the Internet through a mobile phone,
many for the first time.
“As the reach of mobile grows,
it is increasingly becoming a powerful tool for delivering
life-enhancing information, services and opportunities to millions who
have not had the opportunity to access them before,” notes the report.
Despite
the growth, mobile ownership still remains far from universal with 15
per cent of adults still not owning a mobile phone and 45 per cent do
not use mobile internet.
The report contends that
closing the gender gaps in mobile ownership and usage represents an
important commercial opportunity for the mobile industry in that it
would provide an estimated additional $140 billion in revenues to the
industry by 2023.
More importantly, it would add $700
billion in gross domestic product growth (GDP) in the economies of the
low and middle-income countries, representing an additional 0.7 per cent
of GDP growth over the next five years.
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