In poorest nations, a third fewer women than men online with gap widening

In 2016, the internet usage rate among women is 12 percent lower than that among men

Despite growing mobile subscribers, India has the world’s largest offline population – 865 million – followed by China (661 million) and Indonesia (207 million), notes a new report.

The gender gap in internet access is still widening

Especially in low-income countries, women remain, overwhelmingly, offline. “In the average low-income country in the Index, 94 percent of the female population is offline, and 41 percent does not even have access to a mobile phone,” the report observes.

As of 2016, the divide in connectivity is also increasing: the internet usage rate among women is 12 percent lower than that among men. In 2013, that gap stood at 11 percent.

A “yawning gap” exists across poorer and richer countries, the report adds: “Virtually the entire bottom half of the table in female internet access is populated by lower-middle-income and low-income countries.”

Connectivity isn’t everything

While basic infrastructure – such as electricity and broadband – accounts for much of the divide, relevant web content – think Indian-language articles or local-language government services – is another key factor. On this measure, India again falls in the middle – at 36 out of the 75 countries ranked.

The report’s “relevance” measure focuses on how useful content is, and flags programs by developing countries including India for placing government services online, as well as localized content providers such as ShareChat.

But neither, apparently, is income

Predictably, most of the rankings are topped by countries with higher incomes. But Malaysia tops the “readiness” measure – which reflects the capacity of users to take advantage of being online. Several low- and middle-income countries – including Romania, Brazil, and Nepal – have used a mix of policy (such as a national e-inclusion strategy, which Nepal has) and digital literacy to boost inclusion, the report notes.

Meanwhile, costs of internet access remain a key hurdle.
This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here