GSMA: Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024

GSMA releases 'Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024'. Over the past year, mobile internet adoption among women has increased in low- and middle-income countries. In these countries, more women than ever before use mobile internet: 66% (1.5 billion people).

The gender gap in mobile internet adoption in low- and middle-income countries narrowed for the first time since 2020, as women adopted mobile internet faster than men.

In low- and middle-income countries, women are 15% less likely than men to use mobile internet.

Of the 785 million women in low- and middle-income countries who still do not use mobile internet, approximately 60% live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the past year, the gender gap in smartphone ownership in low- and middle-income countries has narrowed slightly from 15% to 13%.

The underlying gender gap in mobile phone ownership in low- and middle-income countries has barely changed since 2017. Women in these countries are 8% less likely than men to own a mobile phone.

In most countries, more than 80% of people are aware of mobile internet and, for the first time, awareness is almost equal between men and women.

For those who already understand mobile internet, the biggest barriers to its adoption are affordability, literacy and digital skills.

Once men and women use mobile internet, the biggest barriers to further use vary by country, but the most common are security concerns, affordability and connectivity experience.

The majority of mobile internet users access the web every day, regardless of gender. Female mobile internet users tend to use the web for a smaller range of use cases per week than males.

In most countries, women who use mobile internet are more likely than men to report wanting to use it more frequently than they currently do.

Most people who know about mobile internet think that it is equally important for men and women to use mobile internet. Among those who disagree, a larger proportion thinks it is more important for men to use mobile internet.

​The document link will be shared to 199IT Knowledge Planet. Scan the QR code below to view it!