UN says 200m fewer women online than men worldwide

UNITED NATIONS -- A UN commission said on Saturday that there are 200 million fewer women online than men, and warned that the gap could grow to 350 million within the next three years if no action is taken.

The statement was contained in the first global report on "broadband and gender" released here by the UN Broadband Commission, which revealed a "significant and pervasive 'tech gap'" in access to information and communication technologies.

Around the world, women are coming online later and more slowly than men, the report said. "Of the world's 2.8 billion Internet users, 1.3 billion are women, compared with 1.5 billion men."

While the gap between male and female users widens rapidly in the developing world, where expensive, "high status" ICTs like computers are often reserved for use by men, the report said.

In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the report estimates that there are only half the number of women connected as men.

Worldwide, women are also on average 21 percent less likely to own a mobile phone -- representing a mobile gender gap of 300 million, equating to $13 billion in potential missed revenues for the mobile sector, said the report, entitled "Doubling Digital Opportunities: Enhancing the Inclusion of Women & Girls in the Information Society."

The report brought together extensive research from UN agencies, commission members and partners from industry, government and civil society, to create the first comprehensive global snapshot of broadband access by gender.

It was officially launched by Helen Clark, the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, who has led the Working Group since its establishment at the 6th meeting of the Broadband Commission in New York last September.

"This new report provides an overview of opportunities for advancing women's empowerment, gender equality and inclusion in an era of rapid technological transformation," said Clark.

"It calls for social and technological inclusion and citizens' participation, explaining the societal and economic benefits of providing access to broadband and ICTs to women, small entrepreneurs and the most vulnerable populations," she said.

"Most importantly, this report shows ways in which we can further advance the sustainable development agenda by promoting the use of new technologies in support of gender equality and women's empowerment," she added.

Most promising "emerging market" could turn out to be women, said the report.

The report speculated that today's untapped pool of female users could also represent a market opportunity for device makers, network operators, and software and app developers that might equal or even outstrip the impact of large emerging markets like China or India.

Research highlighted in the report indicated that, in developing countries, every 10 percent increase in access to broadband translated to a 1.38 percent growth in the gross domestic product.

That means that bringing an additional 600 million women and girls online could boost global GDP by as much as $18 billion, said the report.

The Broadband Commission Working Group on Gender was initially proposed in 2012 by Geena Davis, actress, advocate and the special envoy of the International Telecommunication Union, said the report.