Gender Gap in Digital Access – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1163

Gender Gap in Digital Access – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1163

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1163 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

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Preamble

This post is based on Development Aid September report on this subject.

Why Access to Technology for Women Must Become a Global Priority

In September 2025, DevelopmentAid published a report that laid bare a harsh reality: in many developing countries, women remain far behind men in access to digital technology. They are 19% less likely to use mobile internet than men, and the growth in women working in ICT specialist roles has barely budged; only about 1% increase over a decade.

These numbers aren’t just numbers; they represent human lives constrained by barriers: economic, cultural, educational, and infrastructural. Access to technology is no longer a luxury; it’s essential for participation in education, work, civic life, and the growing digital economy.

What’s Standing in the Way of Women’s Access to Digital Technology

The DevelopmentAid article (and corroborating sources) highlight several interconnected obstacles: Women often earn less, have fewer savings, and less access to credit. Devices, internet data plans, and reliable connectivity cost money. When families have to prioritize, devices or data may go to male members. The cost of devices and ongoing service often puts them out of reach. We commonly see here that lower strata women may be carrying a non-smart phone, but they never have credit to call anyone. They can only receive calls from their menfolk.

Even when a device is affordable or available, many women lack the foundational literacy (reading, writing) or digital skills needed to use it effectively. They may depend on trusted others to navigate apps or online services, limiting independence.

In many societies, expectations that women devote time to family care, or restrictions on mobility, limit opportunities to use digital technology. Sometimes devices are provided, but rigid norms prevent women using them freely. Even within households, male gender roles are assumed to grant priority in usage.

Women tend to carry disproportionate burdens of unpaid work, household chores, childcare, eldercare. This leaves them less time to engage with digital learning or to explore how technology can serve them. Even when digital training or opportunities are available, finding time is harder.

Connectivity in rural or marginalized areas is often poor or unreliable. Even when internet is available, data packages are expensive or inconsistent. Device availability (smartphones, tablets, laptops) can be limited, especially in remote or low-income areas.

Online abuse, harassment, and concerns about data safety deter women or girls from being more active digitally. Also, digital content, services, and technology design often assume male users, rendering them less relevant to women’s needs. Representation matters in what is built, who builds it, and how it is used.

Consequences: What Happens When Women Are Left Behind Digitally

The effects are wide-ranging and deeply damaging, not just for women, but for society and economies as a whole.

With online courses, training, certification, and educational content migrating online, lacking the tools or connectivity means missing out on critical learning. Girls and young women, in particular, fall behind. UNICEF reports that in many low-income countries nearly 90% of adolescent girls and young women are offline, compared to fewer among their male peers.

Women lacking access are less likely to engage with digital civic platforms, use online services like e-government, or express views in digital public discourse. This reduces visibility, voice, and influence.

Digital exclusion compounds other inequalities: income, education, health. Women being unable to access banking or financial services digitally means more dependence, exclusion from credit, lower savings. This keeps cycles of poverty alive.

As more work becomes remote, hybrid, or digital-first, women who lack internet access, devices, or digital skills are cut off from opportunities. They may not be able to participate in remote work, freelancing, online businesses, or platforms that require digital literacy.

Case Study: Pakistan’s Digital Gender Divide

This global issue is very real in Pakistan, where research highlights stark disparities:

Only about 51% of women own a mobile phone, compared to 81% of men.

Only 21% of women use mobile internet, vs 42% of men.

Internet penetration remains under 40%, despite increases in users.

Barriers include high cost of broadband/devices, limited financial access, low literacy especially in rural areas; patriarchal norms restrict women’s mobility and access.

Pakistan’s case underscores that while some barriers are global, their local manifestation varies, quality of infrastructure, societal norms, educational attainment, safety, and policy environment all matter.

Strategies to Close the Gap

The report and expert commentary suggest that no single intervention will suffice. What’s needed is a multi-pronged approach that includes policy, infrastructure, education, cultural change, and inclusion. Here are the key levers:

Device costs (smartphones, tablets) and internet/data bills are major barriers. Subsidies, micro-loans, or installment plans targeted to women can help. Partnerships between governments and telecom providers or manufacturers to reduce cost are crucial.

Programs need to be culturally sensitive and accessible in local languages. They should cater to different levels, from basic device handling to more advanced skills like using e-commerce or digital financial tools. Training hubs or “one-stop-shops” where women can also access income-generating uses of technology help.

Expanding reliable internet, especially in rural and remote areas, ensuring stable electricity, and better mobile network coverage matter. Without these basics, affordability or literacy initiatives will only go so far.

There must be efforts to shift norms around the role of women, inequality in household decision-making, beliefs about who “deserves” access to technology. That can involve community leaders, schools, media campaigns, and role models. Encourage girls into STEM, promote female participation in ICT careers.

Recognize that many women have “double burden” of unpaid care, limiting time they can spend learning or using technology. Policies that provide safe care services, reduce unpaid workload, or flexible access are needed.

Ensure digital content, platforms, and tools are safe, accessible, relevant. Address safety concerns (harassment, privacy), produce locally relevant content, and ensure platforms are designed with women’s needs in mind. Also encourage women’s agency in contributing to digital narratives (not just consuming).

Governments must adopt gender-inclusive digital strategies: national broadband policies, regulation for affordable connectivity, protections for online harassment, supporting women’s participation in ICT roles. NGOs and civil society have a role in advocacy.

Sum UP

Digital exclusion is not “just an issue for women”; it is a drag on economic growth, social development, and fairness. Countries that fail to ensure women’s access to technology leave behind huge potential: the talent of half their population, new markets, creativity, and resilience.

Bridging the gender digital divide is both a moral imperative and a practical necessity. For Pakistan, for Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America—or anywhere—closing the gap can unlock innovation, productivity, and stronger societies.

The path forward requires coordination: governments, private sector, NGOs, academia, community leaders, and women themselves working together. The moment to act is now. Women’s economic empowerment, educational opportunity, civic involvement, and voice depend upon it.

Concluded.

Disclaimers: Pictures in these blogs are taken from free resources at Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Google. Credit is given where available. If a copyright claim is lodged, we shall remove the picture with appropriate regrets.

For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, any claim is lodged, it will be acknowledged and duly recognized immediately.

https://www.developmentaid.org/news-stream/post/200172/women-have-limited-access-to-digital-technologies?utm_campaign=NewsDigest&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Newsletter&token=db66c8c8-346f-4eae-bfa0-543169fbb180