Digital divide wide between male, female youths: Study

A striking gap exists between the male and female youths in Bangladesh in terms of their access to different technologies like internet, mobile phone and computer, a study has revealed.
According to it, around 80 per cent of male youths own mobile phones, whereas only 40 per cent of young females own the gadget that is essential for availing many digital services like online classes.
Only 24 per cent of the females from the poorest income deciles own mobile phones, while the rate is 73 per cent for the richest income deciles, revealed the study titled "Dynamics of Gender and Youth Inclusiveness in Technology in Bangladesh".
"It is evident that the male-female gap is 44 percentage points in the poorest income deciles and 19 percentage points in the richest income deciles," it said.
The findings were presented at a webinar jointly hosted by the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) and ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB). Both the organisations also jointly conducted the study.
Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, deputy education minister, joined the virtual programme as the chief guest with Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB), in the chair.
Dr. Selim Raihan, SANEM executive director, and Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor to the Access to Information or a2i programme under the Prime Minister's Office, spoke on the occasion among others.
Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha, SANEM research director, moderated the discussion while Mahtab Uddin, SANEM research economist, presented the study findings.
The study defined people aged between 15 and 29 years as youths divided in three age groups.
The share of female youth's ownership of a mobile phone for the poor households remains almost the same across all age groups, the report added.
"... irrespective of poverty status, youth females' average mobile holding is significantly lower than the average mobile holding of the males," it said.
There is also a digital divide observable in case of computer and internet access, the study said adding that only six per cent of Bangladeshi households have access to computers and less than four per cent of females ever used a computer.
Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury said gender discrimination in technology is often a result of patriarchal and conservative culture.
"When women use technology, they often have to face stigma and digital harassment, which also contributes to creating the gender gap in technology," he said.
Mr Chowdhoury also stressed on developing pragmatic curriculum that is essential for creating jobs in tune with the imminent changes with fourth industrial revolution.
In his speech, Professor Dr. Selim Raihan highlighted the need for ensuring inclusiveness in technology usage among people from all walks of lives.
"We see example of the gap among students as many poorer students cannot afford the logistics for taking part in online classes," he said.
Mr. Raihan also pointed out that even with a decline in the price of technology, inclusivity is not ensured.
"Cost is not the only factor in technology inclusiveness as many young women face difficulties in accessing technologies," he said.
Farah Kabir said women often feel threatened when they want to participate in the technological mainstream.
She suggested developing an application that would track malpractice against women in online space and facilitate necessary legal measures.
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