Internet usage among women in underdeveloped areas of India is abysmally low; only 42.6 % of women have ever used the Internet in their lives.
Less than four out of ten women in urban India and three out of ten in rural India have ever used the Internet, reveals the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Released by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan recently, the report highlights a significant gender divide and rural-urban disparity in Internet usage in 22 states and union territories of the country.
Survey procedure and findings
The survey was conducted using data collected from 3.07 lakh households. This is the first time that the NFHS has covered the percentage of women and men who have ever used the Internet. On a national scale, the report reveals, only an average of 42.6 % of women have ever used the Internet, contrary to an average of 62.16 % of men. In urban India, this average grows to 56.81 % of women and 73.76 % of men. However, when it comes to rural India, the figures are much worse: only about 33.94 % of women have ever used the Internet, compared to 55.6 % of men.
Also read: Corona Crisis – Connectivity, Collaboration Must for Bridging Digital Divide
This shows that Internet usage among women in underdeveloped areas of the country still remains abysmally low. In addition, India has an Internet density of only 49.78 %, which means that every second person is not digitally connected.
The report highlights that in urban India, ten states and three union territories crossed the 50 % mark when it comes to women who have ever used the Internet. But in rural India, only three states and one union territory scored above 50. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, and Telangana, are among the worst performing states in both urban and rural India.
National significance
One of the biggest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the technology domain is accelerating the digitalization of workflows. As a result, the adoption of digital technologies is no longer a choice but a necessity. And the Internet plays a central role in almost all forms of these technologies. In fact, India has been one of the leading advocates for adopting digitalisation to drive growth across a range of sectors.
In light of this, the findings of the NFHS report are especially significant when compared to the 2018 Mobile Gender Gap Report by GSMA, which showed that in low and middle-income countries, the gender gap in mobile Internet access is 2.6 times that in phone ownership.
This indicates that despite the massive surge in Internet and smartphone usage in urban India, their uptake in rural India, particularly among women, has plateaued severely.
Hence, the focus must now be on bridging these gaps and disparities in digital connectivity, not only in an urban demographic, but also in the fragmented rural sections, which form a huge part of India’s consensus.
Also read: Learning from COVID-19: Going Forward, Democratization of Technology is Must
