In India, there’s a deep digital divide between genders

While the boys have easy access to mobile phones, computers and the internet, young girls, on the other hand, have limited or zero access to such devices

Amajority of young girls in India have no or limited access to either mobile phones or computers, and this gap has widened alarmingly during the Covid-19 crisis, shows a new survey. The survey by New Delhi-based NGO Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3) – conducted across 29 districts in 10 states covering 4,100 respondents – found that there is a crisis of access to digital devices for adolescent girls in India.

“Boys have easier access. In Haryana, the gender gap is the widest, while Telangana reported the lowest difference between the percentage of boys and girls having digital access (12 per cent).” According to C3 Executive Director Dr Aparajita Gogoi, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequalities girls in India face, and “we need to work to keep them in school”. The survey reveals that financial affordability is a major cause for lack of access. “Seventy-one per cent of the girls do not own a mobile phone because they cannot afford it. 81 per cent of families say they cannot afford one, while 79 per cent do not have a computer at home. Financial constraints further alienate young girls from technology. 84 per cent of girls do not have the money to spend on internet access.”

Even when families and adolescents can afford smartphones, computers or other digital devices, it is always the male family members’ usage of such devices that is prioritized, found the survey.