The gender digital divide

How girls and boys differ in their access to internet, devices

- GARIMA SADHWANI

THE ANNUAL STATUS of Education Report (ASER) 2024, released recently, revealed some stark truths about access to education in India. The report, after having surveyed close to 6.5 lakh school students in almost 18,000 villages across 605 rural districts, found that while 90% of rural adolescents have access to a smartphone at home, gender gaps exist in the digital education arena.

The gender digital divide (or GDD) is defined in a 2023 study, published in the Future in Educational Research journal, as a "phenomenon that refers to the inequalities and differences between men and women in accessing the digital ecosystem in various environments, such as the scenarios of education."

Here's what the numbers showed in the ASER report:

● 90.2% boys had smartphones at home, while 88.1% girls did

● 36.2% boys owned smartphones, and 26.9% girls did

● 70.2% boys could access smartphones for any digital task, but only 62.2% girls could

(Mr) Worldwide