Despite this potential, barriers exist. Digital literacy remains a fundamental challenge – women often have lower digital skills than men. Compared to men, women are 8% less likely to own a mobile phone in lower-income countries – and 20% less likely to own a smartphone. 300 million fewer women use mobile internet than men. Affordability of technology is an issue, particularly in a context where financial inclusion is impossible for many women. Echoing women’s experience in the offline space, digital safety and security can also be a significant barrier to initial or meaningful participation in the online world too. These are not abstract figures – lives and livelihoods exist behind each and every percentage point. Women and girls are being marginalised from the digital and broader economy, and society.
The United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and BBC Media Action, is working to shape policies, programmes, and institutions to ensure that women can lead digital health efforts – for the benefit of other women, and for their societies. As part of this work, we are running a focused digital series exploring case studies and best practice on using digital technologies to improve health outcomes for women, broader issues such as privacy and ethics, and the fundamentals of building successful digital health systems that address persistent gender inequities. You can sign-up to the series here.
The first episode in the series (‘What does the digital gender gap mean for healthcare?’ showcased above) focused on setting out what the digital gender gap means for healthcare. Socio-economic, literacy and other disparities are some of the biggest determinants for access to – and usage of – technology. These barriers also prevent women from accessing crucial health information. New technologies – including social media – also risk exacerbating and entrenching these inequalities. However, if applied thoughtfully and inclusively, technology can be transformative in improving women’s health outcomes.
Future episodes in the series will focus on topics including gender-based violence, digital literacy, and Big health data. This wide-ranging relevance highlights why we need to be focusing on the role of gender in the digital health sector. Through these discussions, and building a global network through our Gender Health Hub, we want to ensure that the central role of women in healthcare and technology is recognised, strengthened, and catalysed. We hope you can join us on this journey – at our events and workshops, and beyond.
