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India has made significant progress in recent years in terms of mobile adoption and use. In 2022, there were an estimated 1.2 billion mobile subscribers in India, of which 530 million were women. However, there remains a significant gender gap in mobile ownership and use, with women being 17% less likely than men to own a mobile phone and 20% less likely to use mobile internet.
Societal changes are happening over the globe but seem to be a little slower in India. Changes are making things easy as connectivity, outreach, and solutions to many things. Mobile is one of the best technology to come so far and become an essential part of people’s life.
But Indian society never fails to surprise us. Surprisingly there is still a gender gap between the internet and mobile. Internet services unlock significant commercial opportunities for the mobile industry and socio-economic benefits for women. The mobile gender gap is particularly problematic because it shows forms of inequality — in earnings, networking opportunities, and access to information.
Men are 33 percentage points more likely to own a phone than women, on average. The mobile gap exists across Indian society. This gap has been identified in many data derived from a range of demographic characteristics including age group, state of residence, marital status, educational attainment, urbanicity, and poverty status. While there is substantial variation in the gap, it is always 10 percentage points or higher.
Mobile Gender Gaps in India
There is a long list of benefits that women can get from mobile phones. Major unexplored benefits include access to social networks, labor market opportunities, and education. Having an idea of benefit can give shape to future policies which can make women’s future better.
If we look at geographic variation, While the gender gap is highest in the Northwestern states and somewhat high in the South East, it is lowest in Kerala and the Northeastern states. population in Kerala and the Northeastern states shows less restrictive social norms.
Mobile phones have a strong impact on the economy as well. The reason behind this is mobile phones provide a wide platform for innovations and technology.
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2023 is a comprehensive study of the mobile gender gap in low- and middle-income countries, based on surveys of over 20,000 women and men across 18 countries. The report reveals that despite significant progress in closing the mobile gender gap, women in these countries are still 15% less likely than men to own a mobile phone, and 23% less likely to use mobile internet.
In India, the report finds that:
- Mobile phone ownership has increased significantly among both women and men since 2017, reaching 80% and 91% respectively in 2023. However, the gender gap in mobile ownership remains high at 11 percentage points, meaning that 142 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone in India.
- Mobile internet use has also grown rapidly, reaching 54% of women and 67% of men in 2023. However, the gender gap in mobile internet use is even wider at 13 percentage points, meaning that 195 million fewer women than men use mobile internet in India.
- The main barriers to mobile ownership and use for women in India are affordability, literacy and digital skills, safety and security concerns, and social norms. For example, 40% of women who do not own a mobile phone cite affordability as a reason, compared to 27% of men. Similarly, 37% of women who do not use mobile internet cite lack of literacy or digital skills as a reason, compared to 25% of men.
- The report also highlights the benefits of mobile ownership and use for women in India, such as accessing information, services, and opportunities, staying connected with family and friends, and feeling more empowered and independent. For example, 62% of women who use mobile internet say it has helped them learn new things, compared to 53% of men. Similarly, 49% of women who use mobile internet say it has helped them feel more confident, compared to 40% of men.
- The report recommends several actions to close the mobile gender gap in India, such as addressing the affordability barrier by reducing the cost of devices and services, improving the digital literacy and skills of women through tailored training and content, enhancing the safety and security of women online and offline through awareness campaigns and reporting mechanisms, and challenging the social norms that limit women's access and use of mobile technology through community engagement and role models.
The report concludes that closing the mobile gender gap is not only a moral imperative, but also an economic opportunity. It estimates that if women in low- and middle-income countries had the same access and use of mobile technology as men, an additional $700 billion in GDP would be added over the next five years. Moreover, closing the mobile gender gap would also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to gender equality, education, health, and poverty reduction.
IMPACT OF TYPE OF MOBILE
What kind of mobile people are using can also impact how the internet is being used. Smartphone owners are regular in using mobile internet.
TRADITIONAL BARRIERS ARE STILL ALIVE
It might shock you that communities are still concerned about female phone usage, rather than male. This is because the ability of a girl to get married is linked to her reputation. (e.g. no uploading pictures to social media or using phones outside the home), thus leading to a widening of the gender gap during the pre-marriage period.
Women are often treated as caregivers, women should not use too many phones, they should be used only to serve their primary responsibility which is taking care of their family and household. Mobile phones should be treated as a safety factor rather than a subject to judge women.
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