Gender digital divide in India: a case of inter-regional analysis of Uttar Pradesh
| Pages | 173-192 |
| Published date | 14 May 2018 |
| Date | 14 May 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-07-2017-0046 |
| Author | Shashi Bala,Puja Singhal |
Gender digital divide in India:
a case of inter-regional analysis
of Uttar Pradesh
Shashi Bala and Puja Singhal
Centre for Gender and Labour Studies, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute,
Noida, India
Abstract
Purpose –This study aimstoendeavorto explore the extent of gender digital divide(GDD) in Uttar Pradesh
(U.P., IT-Hub of North India),a most populous state of India, with a particular focus on the first and second
order of digitaldivide, including availability, accesstime and use of the internet.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors have adoptedstratified multistage sampling procedure
for this researchand conducted an empirical study on the data set of 600 respondents of six districtsof U.P. to
perform the inter-regional analysis.Furthermore,
x
2
method has been used to reveal the factorsresponsible
for the GDD among selecteddistricts of UP.
Findings –Statistical results clearly indicate that out of 12 sub-districts, most of the districts suffered from first
order as well as second order of GDD, and this gender disparity within an increasing digitization environment is
due to the existence of exclusion from basic technological skills,social norms and financial constraints.
Practical implications –The results have implications forthe U.P. Government in general and
policymakers behind digitizationprojects in particular as well as the promoters of gender equalityincluding
researchersand fellows.
Originality/value –This study is the first to illustratethe orders of the digital gender gap in a developing
economy such as India and to gain an insight into the factors behind it. Thisresearch will also consider a
promisingavenue for future work.
Keywords Availability, Access, Usage, First-order digital divide, Gender digital divide,
Second-order digital divide
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Digital information and communicationtechnology (ICT) including the computer, internet
and mobile phones has enormous potential to unify the entire humanity and connect the
whole world into one big family. The digital revolution has expandedthe baseof ICT use by
lowering information cost and has facilitated greater convenience in sharingof information
both at the global and local level.It canalso act as a tool to overcome numerous intimidating
socioeconomic and cultural issues, such as spread of literacyto the remote areas, reduction
in poverty, expansion of knowledgeacross the globe, financial empowerment of women and
also bridging of the gender digitaldivide (GDD). The digital revolution has perhaps brought
the major stakeholders of society comprisingindividuals, businesses and the governments,
The authors would like to thank the V.V.Giri National Labor Research Institute for its cooperation
and support in providing the database of their study. Without its long-term vision for research, this,
and many other studies of this kind, would not be possible.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the position or opinions of the VVGNLI or its members.
Gender digital
divide
173
Received29 July 2017
Revised28 November 2017
29January 2018
14February 2018
Accepted14 February 2018
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.16 No. 2, 2018
pp. 173-192
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-07-2017-0046
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm
to a closer proximity, wherein the citizens of a nation cannot only interact with their
government but also share their problems, ideas and opinions on social, economic or
political issues. This helps the government to frame appropriate policies and take steps to
solve unresolved issues. Thus, it is quite evident that digital ICT has occupied a prominent
position in the daily life of each and every citizen of the nation and possesses an
indispensablepower for them.
World Development Report 2016 reported that digital technologies are spreading so
quickly that developing countries are acquiring better access to mobile phones faster
than electricity or clean water. Moreover, globally the number of internet users has more
than tripled within the span of a decade, growing from 1 billion in 2005 to an estimated
3.2 billion by the end of 2015. Despite this, it has been found that nearly 2 billion people
do not own a mobile phone, approximately 60 per cent of the world’s population has no
access to the internet and only about 15 per cent can afford access to broadband internet.
This is what creates the difference between “haves”and “have-nots”of ICT benefits and
leads to the digital divide which proves detrimental to the inclusive growth of the nation.
The digital gender gap is one of the most pernicious aspects of the global digital divide.
The International Telecommunication Union’s(ITU’s) report 2016 Facts & Figures,
reckoned that this gap grew from 11 per cent (2013) to 12 per cent (2016) and for least
developed countries, it is 31 per cent. Pew Global Survey (2015) further revealed the
double-digit gender gaps on the internet access in India, where 27 per cent men compared
to only 17 per cent women accept their access to the internet. Unfortunately, this gender
disparity cannot be resolved by these statistics alone and it requires a herculean effort to
bridge the gap so that digital technologies can play a vital role.
Digital inclusion in developing countries canonly be achieved by leveraging ICT for
disadvantaged groups and sections of society. In this “informationeconomy,”with the easy
availability, access,and use of ICT, women can break the vicious circle of skill gap and a gap
of physical access to IT. These are two essential components of the digital divide (Kularski
and Moller, 2012). The authors (Mbarika et al., 2007;Terry and Gomez, 2011) also claimed
from the ITU report that, limiting the access of women to ICTs will not only hamper their
family’s income but also restrict the growth and development of the nation. Even in “care
economy,”where women are involved in lot of unpaid care work like care of children, the
elderly and the sick, and in some places bearing the responsibility of water and energy
supplies, better access toICT can reduce or redistribute their work (OECD, 2011). As stated
by the Intel report (2013), global GDP can also be enhanced by getting more women and
girls online. But, despite this critical importance, very few women and girls have access to
digital ICT, resulting in the problem of “gender digital divide”across the nations and
societies, implying an uneven distribution of the digital technologies and creating an
imbalance in gender equality. This is mainly influenced by the exclusion of women from
technology education, high cost oftechnologies, financial/institutional constraint, lack of
conventional skills, remotenessof locations, etc. Though, by providing easily accessible and
affordable ICT infrastructure,this grave issue of digital gender gap can be resolved up to a
vast extent. Along with this, national and international, collaborative and innovative efforts
are also required. Consideringthe above-stated background and facts, this study is an effort
to explore the extent of GDDin Indian society with following objectives.
The aim of this study is fourfold:
(1)to study the inter-regional analysis of first- and second-order digital divide from
the gender perspective among the six selected districts of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.);
(2)to estimate the level of basic technological skill for the internet use in men and
women;
JICES
16,2
174
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