Indian Women Lag in Internet Access: Report

Bangalore: Developing countries can be classified by the best practices they lack, compared to the developed countries. As per a recent report released by the tech giant Intel Corp better measures need to be taken to increase the access to online by women and girls. This needs to be done in order to double the number of female internet users in developing countries in the next three years, as reported by Reuters.

 The adamant gap in the women’s access to internet was pointed by the report funded by the global chipmaker with contributions from the U.S. State Department and the United Nations. The major gap was seen in the regions like the Middle East, Africa and other developing parts of the world.

In these regions it was found that women are about 25 percent less likely than men to be online. The situation called for the technology companies and policymakers to take measures such as allowing free mobile content, making it easier to access the Internet on mobile phones and increasing digital literacy to reduce the gap.

The survey was done focusing on women and girls in four developing countries - Egypt, Mexico, India and Uganda in which over 2,200 women including girls were interviewed. It was found that to earn more money or search and apply for jobs women need internet access.

Melanne Verveer, ambassador for global women's issues at the State Department said, “With the powerful capabilities the Internet enables - to connect, to learn, to engage, to increase productivity, and to find opportunities - women's lack of access is giving rise to a second digital divide, one where women and girls risk being left further and further behind,” as reported by Reuters.

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