A Small Tool to Accelerate Digital Inclusion
The internet was invented in 1983 but it proved its significance in the 2020s. COVID-19 established the importance of digital connectivity like nothing else.
In this age of digitalization, unique opportunities are being unlocked as one’s physical location has become of less relevance. We are living in a global village and it is an exciting time to be alive.
As digital economies are developing, the inequalities that existed in our physical world are being translated into the digital economy. Though the internet is propelling many forward, it is also leaving many behind.
Today, unequivocally, the most fundamental unit of the digital economy is the mobile phone. But this basic utility is a luxury for 372 million women across Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
While many factors prevent women across the globe to participate in the digital economy, mobile ownership is at the forefront of the solution.
Increasing female mobile ownership is a win-win situation. It is a $140bn opportunity for the mobile industry as estimated by GSMA and a $1 trillion opportunity for national GDP according to this report. 🤑.
Moreover, increasing mobile ownership is a unique way to improve the lives of millions of women across LMICs. Extensive research has found that mobile phones are a source of empowerment for women in developing regions. Mobile phones have brought millions of people into the formal financial sector increasing the financial security of women in rural areas.
Women in the workplace have been linked to greater economical and social benefits. Increasing female mobile ownership holds similar value. In rural Peru, the arrival of mobile coverage has been linked to reducing poverty and increasing household consumption. Mobile phones are the perfect way to increase female labor force participation as work through the internet provides flexible employment opportunities. . The flexible employment overcomes a top barrier that prevents rural women from accessing the workplace; mobility. Furthermore, it assures male gatekeepers that the woman’s household responsibilities won’t be neglected and allows female family members to work from home.
Mobile ownership has increased female access to information, which GSMA reports have found gives women a greater sense of autonomy, and safety and promotes self-confidence.
If that’s not women empowerment, what is?
