Caste and gender digital divide exposed

MOBILE phone ownership among Indian men is as high as 61 per cent, while only 31 per cent of women owned such devices in 2021, according to a new report.

It said India’s inequalities based on caste, religion, gender, class and geographic location are being replicated in the digital space as well.

Oxfam India’s latest ‘India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide’ report said on Monday (5) that the reach of digital technologies remains limited to largely male, urban, uppercaste and upper-class households and individuals.

“Eight per cent of the general caste have a computer or a laptop, whereas fewer than one

per cent of the scheduled tribes (ST) and two per cent of the scheduled castes (SC) have it. As per the Mobile Gender Gap report by GSMA (an industry organisation of mobile network operators), women are less likely to use mobile internet by 33 per cent when compared to men in 2021,” it said.

It added that the use of computer devices decreased in rural areas. Prior to the pandemic, three per cent of the rural population owned a computer.

“This has come down to just one per cent post-pandemic. Whereas in urban areas, the number of people with computers is eight per cent,” it said.

CEO of Oxfam India, Amitabh Behar, said, “India’s growing inequality is accentuated due to the digital divide.

“The growing inequality based on caste, religion, gender, class, and geographic location also gets replicated in the digital space. People without devices and the internet get further marginalised due to difficulties in accessing education, health, and public services. This vicious cycle of inequality needs to stop.”

The report recommended the government’s efforts to bridge India’s current income inequality by improving the income of the poor become pertinent and can go a long way.

This could be achieved by setting a minimum living wage, easing the indirect tax burden on citizens and provision of universal health and education services, it added.