Mobile internet gender gap narrows in sub-Saharan Africa

The gender gap in mobile internet use narrowed in sub-Saharan Africa for the second year in a row, a new report found, though it remains the region with the highest proportion of women yet to adopt the technology.

Sub-Saharan Africa showed “promising progress in closing mobile gender gaps,” the telecoms industry body GSMA wrote in the report seen by Semafor, with the gulf between men and women using mobile internet dropping from 36% in 2022 to 29% in 2024. Yet around 205 million women are still unconnected to mobile internet services, nearly two-thirds of the adult female population, the report to be published on Wednesday noted. Globally, progress in bridging the mobile gender gap in low- and middle-income countries has stalled.

The barriers “disproportionately affect women because of structural inequalities around income and education,” Claire Sibthorpe, head of digital inclusion at GSMA, told Semafor, with “social norms” also playing a role in driving the gender gap.

The lack of a smartphone and internet connectivity lowers women’s access to education and employment, according to development experts, which is why improving women’s digital connectivity is listed by the UN as a key indicator for achieving gender equality. Researchers at Oxford University have found that women who own mobile phones and use the internet are more empowered to make decisions over their health, while others have shown how phones can help alleviate poverty and boost women’s economic independence.

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