Etini
Valued Contributor
The Covid 19 global pandemic came and changed entirely the way we live and do things. It brought exposure to how critical digital technologies are in today’s world. With the global lockdown, digital technologies kept businesses, education, government, and economies running despite the health crisis. This also brought to the fore another issue- many people and communities have been left out of this digital transformation. The question could be, why is this a problem? It is a problem because economic development has evolved to become largely dependent on digital technologies and those with limited or no access to technology are falling further and further behind.
In many developing countries, women and girls fall into this category of people without adequate access to digital technology. They are plagued with barriers and constraints that hinder them from accessing the internet which impedes their full involvement and participation in the social and economic lives of their countries. As of today, there is a huge gap between men and women moving online. It is called the gender digital divide.
What could be the cause of gender bias in information technology access? Some might argue that it could be the inability of the womenfolk to meet up with the high technical needs required to operate in this IT era. This presumption is false as evident from the fact that a few women who have been exposed to IT are creating new frontiers in the Tech world. It might come as a shocker that the first computer programmer in the world was a woman called Ada Lovelace.
According to a recent study conducted by the Center for Information Technology and Development, in Northern Nigeria around 60% of the female population is not able to access the internet; also 55% of men in Northern Nigeria do not want their wives to use the internet and 61% of fathers discourage their teen daughters from using phones. Rather than technical gaps, gendered social norms play a major role in establishing this digital divide. Gendered norms prescribe different roles and expectations to men and women in households and public life. In some parts of Nigeria, there are negative stereotypes about women’s mobile phone ownership. Typically in Nigeria, there is a general fear within society that women’s mobile phone ownership would enable promiscuity. For a male-dominated society, online activity facilitates women’s empowerment, provides opportunities to challenge traditional norms, and promotes gender equality. The internet is a huge risk to the traditional social order in many conservative societies and this plays a major role in the negative inclusion of women in tech and tech-related activities.
One of the most significant barriers preventing women’s access to ICTs is the economic disadvantages that they experience, including the gender wage gap that exists on a global level. In many countries, women continue to be economically dependent on their spouses and other male relatives. They often have less control over shared finances than men do and, as a result of the unequal division of paid and unpaid work, only a few women have independent income from their labor. This indeed is a major barrier preventing this woman from decent access to ICTs
Existing gender gaps in digital inclusion, if not properly addressed, are likely to lead to gender inequalities in many other areas, including inequalities in labor markets and less financial inclusion of women. This is because digital technologies are omnipresent and digitization affects all areas of our lives. Not only are digitally excluded women likely to be excluded from attractive and lucrative employment opportunities, but they lack digital literacy, which is one of the most demanded skills in the digital age. Their digital exclusion will also prevent them from finding a fairly paid job. The job search markets are becoming increasingly digital and many employers prefer to hire their employees on online job search platforms. Women without access to such platforms run the risk of receiving significantly lower wages for their work than current market wages. Therefore, the inability to access and use digital technologies is likely to lead to an even wider gender pay gap.
a. Encouraging women in STEM: STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Digital skills and STEM qualifications are among the most highly demanded in the employment market, especially in urban areas where more and more of the population is concentrated. Job opportunities in the fields of computer science, technology, and engineering will continue to grow. Encouraging the education of girls in STEM from an early age and teaching digital literacy to women and girls are the first steps to bridging the gender gap that exists in these fields. It is also necessary to create the systems and cultures that help women and girls to stay and thrive in these areas.
B. Women in the labor market
Facilitating the participation of women in the labor market, while monitoring and ensuring the quality of jobs, and providing support services to enable women to work and pursue a career while being a mother or having a family, could solve a significant part of the problem.
C. Encouraging women's education
As demonstrated throughout this write-up, education is a key factor in bridging the gender digital divide. Investing in women’s education and in particular in digital skills education would prove to be profitable to a state, both in the short term and long term, since the women trained in these education systems can contribute significantly more to the economy.
Bridging the gender digital gap is a matter of urgency.
In many developing countries, women and girls fall into this category of people without adequate access to digital technology. They are plagued with barriers and constraints that hinder them from accessing the internet which impedes their full involvement and participation in the social and economic lives of their countries. As of today, there is a huge gap between men and women moving online. It is called the gender digital divide.
What could be the cause of gender bias in information technology access? Some might argue that it could be the inability of the womenfolk to meet up with the high technical needs required to operate in this IT era. This presumption is false as evident from the fact that a few women who have been exposed to IT are creating new frontiers in the Tech world. It might come as a shocker that the first computer programmer in the world was a woman called Ada Lovelace.
According to a recent study conducted by the Center for Information Technology and Development, in Northern Nigeria around 60% of the female population is not able to access the internet; also 55% of men in Northern Nigeria do not want their wives to use the internet and 61% of fathers discourage their teen daughters from using phones. Rather than technical gaps, gendered social norms play a major role in establishing this digital divide. Gendered norms prescribe different roles and expectations to men and women in households and public life. In some parts of Nigeria, there are negative stereotypes about women’s mobile phone ownership. Typically in Nigeria, there is a general fear within society that women’s mobile phone ownership would enable promiscuity. For a male-dominated society, online activity facilitates women’s empowerment, provides opportunities to challenge traditional norms, and promotes gender equality. The internet is a huge risk to the traditional social order in many conservative societies and this plays a major role in the negative inclusion of women in tech and tech-related activities.
One of the most significant barriers preventing women’s access to ICTs is the economic disadvantages that they experience, including the gender wage gap that exists on a global level. In many countries, women continue to be economically dependent on their spouses and other male relatives. They often have less control over shared finances than men do and, as a result of the unequal division of paid and unpaid work, only a few women have independent income from their labor. This indeed is a major barrier preventing this woman from decent access to ICTs
Existing gender gaps in digital inclusion, if not properly addressed, are likely to lead to gender inequalities in many other areas, including inequalities in labor markets and less financial inclusion of women. This is because digital technologies are omnipresent and digitization affects all areas of our lives. Not only are digitally excluded women likely to be excluded from attractive and lucrative employment opportunities, but they lack digital literacy, which is one of the most demanded skills in the digital age. Their digital exclusion will also prevent them from finding a fairly paid job. The job search markets are becoming increasingly digital and many employers prefer to hire their employees on online job search platforms. Women without access to such platforms run the risk of receiving significantly lower wages for their work than current market wages. Therefore, the inability to access and use digital technologies is likely to lead to an even wider gender pay gap.
a. Encouraging women in STEM: STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Digital skills and STEM qualifications are among the most highly demanded in the employment market, especially in urban areas where more and more of the population is concentrated. Job opportunities in the fields of computer science, technology, and engineering will continue to grow. Encouraging the education of girls in STEM from an early age and teaching digital literacy to women and girls are the first steps to bridging the gender gap that exists in these fields. It is also necessary to create the systems and cultures that help women and girls to stay and thrive in these areas.
B. Women in the labor market
Facilitating the participation of women in the labor market, while monitoring and ensuring the quality of jobs, and providing support services to enable women to work and pursue a career while being a mother or having a family, could solve a significant part of the problem.
C. Encouraging women's education
As demonstrated throughout this write-up, education is a key factor in bridging the gender digital divide. Investing in women’s education and in particular in digital skills education would prove to be profitable to a state, both in the short term and long term, since the women trained in these education systems can contribute significantly more to the economy.
Bridging the gender digital gap is a matter of urgency.
