In a digital world, internet access is crucial for adolescents. But in poorer countries this is often not guaranteed. According to a UNICEF report, girls in particular are cut off from digital development there.
Especially in the poorest countries in the world, girls and young women are often offline. Like from one Report by the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF shows just 10 percent of them in low-income countries use the Internet; for boys it is 22 percent. The biggest gap between girls and boys was in South Asia. The focus of the UNICEF study was on 15 to 24 year olds.
According to the study, there are also clear differences between the sexes when it comes to digital skills: On average, there are only 65 females for every 100 young males with digital skills. Above all, countries such as Pakistan, the Congo and the Central African Republic were still well below this average. But there are also poorer countries where more girls than boys have digital skills: Tonga, Cuba and Tuvalu did particularly well here.
Lack of access disadvantages women
The lack of access and inequality between girls and boys poses a serious risk that women will be economically left behind in an increasingly digitally connected world, warned UNICEF.
UNICEF Director of Education Robert Jenkins said the digital divide between girls and boys isn’t just about access to the internet and technology: “It’s about empowering girls to be innovative, creative and leaders.” If one wants to eliminate gender gaps in the labor market, one must help young people and especially girls to acquire digital skills.
According to the report, the reasons for the different internet access of girls and boys are not only due to technical requirements, but are also family-related: In one and the same household, boys are often more likely to have a mobile phone than girls.