The latest data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), has revealed that though some 4.1 billion people are constantly online globally, there exists a widening digital gender gap in terms of Internet uptake across the world.
The data disclosed that in most countries across the world, women are still trailing men in benefiting from the transformational power of digital technologies.
Tagged ‘Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019’, the figures show that over half the total global female population, 52 percent is still not using the Internet, compared to 42 percent of all men.
The ‘Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019’ is a product of ITU’s Measuring digital development reports, a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide.
Speaking on the tool, ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, noted that the tool works to evaluate connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide, at a time when over half of the world’s population is using the Internet.
“ITU statistics help policy-makers and regulators make informed policy decisions to connect the unconnected and track progress at the global level,” he said.
According to the figures, the proportion of all women using the Internet globally is 48 percent, against 58 percent of all men. Meaning, more men than women use the Internet in every region of the world except the Americas, which has near-parity.
The data also show that, while the digital gender gap has been shrinking in the Commonwealth of the Independent States and Europe, it is growing in Africa, the Arab States, and the Asia-Pacific region. It is widest in developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries.