Report: Women fall behind in smartphone ownership, use
While smartphone ownership among working women in Kenya has risen, the gender gaps in access and use of mobile technology still persists, a report shows.
What you need to know:
- The report, however, indicates that between 2019 and 2021, six per cent more women acquired phones.
- The cost of mobile internet was identified as a hurdle for women who were aware of the Internet but did not use it.
While smartphone ownership among working women in Kenya has risen, the gender gaps in access and use of mobile technology still persists, a report shows.
The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022 has indicated that between 2019 and 2021, six per cent more women acquired phones.
“This growth in smartphone ownership among working women demonstrates the value of mobile phones for this group,” it reads.
Despite the increase, there remains a disparity between men and women’s ownership. Women in the country and sub-Saharan Africa are still 30 per cent less likely to own a smartphone than men.
Nonworking women
Interestingly, smartphone ownership among nonworking women in Kenya dropped by four per cent between 2020 and 2021. In contrast, ownership among non-working men increased by three per cent during the same period.
The mobile gender gap was revealed to be severe for women with low literacy levels, those who are unemployed, have low incomes, are older than 55, live in a rural area, or have a disability.
The inaccessibility of smartphones and the Internet disadvantages women from enjoying a variety of needs. Women can miss crucial information and services related to income generation, education, health, finance, safety and personal well-being.
Also read: Internet’s growing, but women are offline
“These opportunities are even more critical as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact health, livelihoods and economies around the world, and disproportionately affect women,” the report says.
Overall, a greater percentage of women in Kenya still use a basic phone. The lack ownership of smartphone use among women was attributed to the cost of handsets. Respondents felt that saving money for a new handset, whether at full price or through a deposit or instalment, was extremely challenging and some were concerned about relying on credit.
The report also revealed that roughly a quarter of women in the country were still unaware of mobile internet. But the cost of mobile internet was identified as a hurdle for women who were aware of the Internet but did not use it.
Payment and choices
In addition, it suggested that of all the new devices acquired in the past year, women mobile owners were less likely than their male counterparts to have paid for the device or chosen the model.
According to the study, once women acquired a smartphone, their mobile internet awareness and use, mobile money adoption and wider mobile use closely resembled rates for men.
It recommended that informed and targeted action be taken by all stakeholders, including mobile network operators, internet companies, policymakers, regulators and the development community.
Structural barriers and inequalities underpinning the mobile gender gap like income and education disparities, and restrictive and harmful social norms should also be addressed.
