{"id":230041,"date":"2023-03-06T20:36:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=230041"},"modified":"2023-03-06T20:36:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:06:37","slug":"india-needs-to-double-down-on-bridging-its-digital-gender-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-needs-to-double-down-on-bridging-its-digital-gender-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"India needs to double down on bridging its digital gender gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cIndia needs to double down on bridging its digital gender gap\u201d <\/strong>published in the mint <\/strong>on 6th March 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS1- Social empowerment. GS2- Vulnerable sections of the population<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> Issues related to women empowerment<\/p>\n

News- The article deals with the issue of digital access for women empowerment<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the status of digital disparity between men and women in India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to a Unicef report, as many as 90% of the jobs<\/strong> in the world today have a digitalcomponent. These jobs are available only to the digitally able, and to more men than women.<\/p>\n

According to the report, in developing countries, only 41% of women have access to the internet <\/strong>compared with 53% of men. Women are 20% less likely to own a smartphone and are more likely to borrow phones from a male family member.<\/p>\n

The report also says that boys are 1.5 times more likely<\/strong> to own a mobile phone, and 1.8 times more likely <\/strong>to own a smartphone than girls.<\/p>\n

Another report by the OECD<\/strong> revealed that the gender gap in internet use<\/strong> is widening. Software development<\/strong> remains a male-dominated field<\/strong>. Women comprise only 15% of software designers.<\/p>\n

Data on the use of the internet in India<\/strong> indicates that in comparison with 58% male internet users, female users are only 42%.<\/p>\n

Girls and women are denied access to digital technologies because they almost always come second in a patriarchal social order.<\/strong> The internet is seen as a \u2018risk to the traditional social order\u2019<\/strong> and \u2018male gatekeepers\u2019 restrict or control girls\u2019 and women\u2019s access to the internet.<\/p>\n

How Covid19 shows the importance of digital access?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Covid has demonstrated the seminal importance of digital tools<\/strong> in today\u2019s world. Children struggled to keep up with their studies using the limited smartphones and computers.<\/p>\n

UNESCO estimated<\/strong> that around 168 million girls enrolled in pre-primary to tertiary levels of education were affected.<\/p>\n

What is the importance of digital inclusion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Leaving women out of the digital world would amount to denying them basic skills for survival.<\/strong><\/p>\n

India aims to have a $1 trillion digital economy by 2025<\/strong>. Already, 40% of global digitaltransactions<\/strong> take place in India. As economies digitise further<\/strong>, most jobs will require someknowledge of digital technology.<\/p>\n

In India, front-line workers are using tablets and smartphones. Public schemes such as the PM Janani Suraksha Yojana require beneficiaries to provide their bank account details. Social and financial inclusion<\/strong> will necessitate digital inclusion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are vast opportunities for girls and women to power India\u2019s digital economy<\/strong> and benefit from it. Access to digital technology for a young woman can be a game changer with multiplier effects. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Digital literacy<\/strong> for women is a necessity if India wants to achieve the ultimate goal of genderequality<\/strong>. Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the need for \u2018women-led development\u2019 <\/strong>as India took over the G20 presidency.<\/p>\n

What is the way forward for bridging the gender gap in digital space?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Leveraging India\u2019s demographic dividend<\/strong> requires an equal emphasis on the country’s gender dividend. <\/strong><\/p>\n

It will require smart interventions<\/strong> specially designed for girls and women in health, education, employment, banking, skilling and transportation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A favourable policy environment to promote the digital empowerment<\/strong> of women is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cIndia needs to double down on bridging its digital gender gap\u201d published in the mint on 6th March 2023. Syllabus: GS1- Social empowerment. GS2- Vulnerable sections of the population Relevance: Issues related to women empowerment News- The article deals with the issue of digital access for women… Continue reading India needs to double down on bridging its digital gender gap<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[263,11126],"class_list":["post-230041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-1","tag-the-mint","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230041\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}