INTRODUCTION
The digital gender gap, if left unaddressed, has the potential to exacerbate existing health inequities.
Closing the digital gender gap requires a multifaceted approach to address all the intersectional inequalities faced by women and girls from diverse backgrounds. This entails finding ways, and implementing solutions, to include women and girls in the design of digital health interventions. This policy brief includes recommendations to help policymakers close the digital gap.
The digital gender gap is driven by unequal gender power relations and discrimination commonly found offline in many societies. These are further reinforced by a complex set of social, cultural, economic, political, and legal barriers that negatively affect women and girls’ access to and ownership of digital technologies.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
- Understand and address: The harmful gender norms, practices, and stereotypes that hinder women’s safe and meaningful use of digital technology.
Establish: More inclusive and gender responsive education and digital training that focus on the specific needs of women.
Develop: Laws, policies, and strategies that support women to stay online including laws to protect online rights, and preventing cyberbullying and sexual harassment.
Ensure: The collection of gender-disaggregated data on the digital gender gap – considering other intersectional factors – to inform policy and business decisions that seek to close the digital gender gap.
Download the policy brief here.