GSMA's 2025 Mobile Gender Gap Report: Progress Stalls in Low and Middle-Income Countries

GSMA's 2025 Mobile Gender Gap Report Overview



The GSMA has released its comprehensive report on the Mobile Gender Gap for 2025, highlighting a troubling stagnation in progress aimed at bridging the digital divide between genders in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Findings indicate that despite previous advancements, women are now 14% less likely than men to access mobile internet. As of 2024, approximately 885 million women remain offline, with significant numbers concentrated in regions such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Key Findings of the Report



The report examines the usage patterns and barriers faced by women regarding mobile technology across 15 LMICs. It reveals that women are disproportionately affected by various challenges that inhibit their adoption and usage of mobile internet. The data further illustrates that while 63% of women in these countries are using mobile internet, gender disparities persist. Notably, the gap reduced from 25% in 2017 to 15% by 2020. However, it has stagnated since, with minimal changes noted up to 2023.

Region-Specific Insights



The analysis reveals that the disparity is most pronounced in Southern Asia (32%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (29%), spotlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions in these areas. Claire Sibthorpe, GSMA's Director of Digital Inclusion, expressed her concerns about the stagnation and highlighted the pressing need for collective investment and action from all stakeholders to address these gendered barriers. She noted that social, economic, and cultural factors continue to drive these gaps, requiring deliberate efforts to move towards equality.

The Impact of Mobile Internet on Women's Lives



The report indicates that many surveyed women acknowledge the positive impact of mobile internet on their lives, enhancing communication, supporting livelihoods, and providing access to necessary services such as healthcare and financial solutions. However, despite this recognition, many women still struggle with affordability; basic smartphones are estimated to consume around 24% of their monthly income, compared to 12% for their male counterparts.

Ongoing Challenges



While 61% of women own a smartphone, there remain approximately 945 million who do not. Once connected, women's usage frequency and the scope of services accessed often lag behind men's due to issues surrounding connectivity, affordability, and perceived insecurity when navigating the mobile internet.

Conclusion and Call to Action



The findings of the GSMA's 2025 Mobile Gender Gap Report call for increased collaboration to foster digital equity. Specifically, Sibthorpe's comments underlined the importance of focused initiatives aimed at addressing the specific barriers that women face in digital spaces. The GSMA's Women Connected Commitment initiative, founded in 2016, exemplifies how strategic efforts can drive measurable change, having collectively reached over 80 million additional women with mobile or financial services since its inception.

This report serves not only as a critical analysis of the current state of gender disparities in mobile internet usage but also as a rallying call for immediate action to confront these ongoing challenges. Readers interested in exploring further can access the complete report and related resources for a deeper understanding of this pressing global issue.

Topics Telecommunications)

【About Using Articles】

You can freely use the title and article content by linking to the page where the article is posted.
※ Images cannot be used.

【About Links】

Links are free to use.