LAUSR

The most striking aspect of the digital divide in the world today is the difference between women’s and men’s access to and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in developing countries. Many of the most effective tools for addressing this divide involve children and youth: promoting access at a young age to help build skills and confidence; ensuring that there is content designed for and by girls and young women; expanding digital education opportunities for female students; and addressing at a young age the genderbased social and psychological barriers that discourage girls and women from using the internet. According to the latest data from the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Report on ICT Facts and Figures (ITU, 2016), women in developing countries are 16 percentage points less likely than men to use the internet, on average. A survey of 40 countries in 2015 by the Pew Research Center (Pew 2015) found double-digit digital gender gaps in many countries including Nigeria (19%), Kenya (18%), Ghana (15%), Vietnam (13%), Tanzania (13%), Pakistan (13%), Palestine Territories (11%), Japan (11%), India (11%), and Uganda (11%). The gap remains a colossal 31% in the least-developed countries (ITU 2016). In these countries, women’s and girl’s access to and usage of ICTs is generally hindered by structural factors such as inadequate technological infrastructure in the area; a lack of educational opportunity among young women, which impairs their overall skills; limited institutional opportunities to access ICTs; the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon (i.e. choosing their families and other domestic responsibilities over their own personal development); and public access to ICTs being located in areas where girls do not feel comfortable. These barriers are compounded and perpetuated by extreme poverty and highly patriarchal social structures, in which a strong cultural preference for boys resigns women and girls to a much inferior status. Apart from these structural inequalities, psychological barriers also hinder girls’ access to and usage of ICT tools, such as a lack of confidence in their ability to learn ICT skills; not being convinced of the benefits of ICT use; thinking that technology is not meant for them or is reserved for men or elites; and a hesitation to participate in new activities. Since boys and men in developing countries are more likely to have access to ICT resources and more equipped to use these tools, they may gain considerably more from the myriad possibilities of the information age than girls and women, which in turn may create new