Stagnation in Mobile Internet Gender Gap Closing

May 14, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ — According to a GSMA report, progress in closing the mobile internet gender gap in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) has stalled. The data indicates that women are significantly less likely than men to use mobile internet, with a large number remaining unconnected, particularly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. While mobile internet is acknowledged as beneficial for women’s lives, barriers such as affordability and access to smartphones, which cost women a disproportionate amount of their income, persist. Efforts to address this disparity require focused investment and action from all stakeholders to overcome deep-rooted social and economic factors.

The stalled progress in closing the mobile internet gender gap in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) is primarily driven by several key factors.

These factors contribute to the situation where women are 14% less likely than men to use mobile internet in LMICs, resulting in around 235 million fewer women online and 885 million women in LMICs remaining without mobile internet access. The disparity remains highest in South Asia (32%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (29%). The report highlights the urgent need for increased focus and investment from all stakeholders to address these factors and close the digital gender divide.

The gap is not expected to close on its own and requires increased focus and investment from all stakeholders to address these underlying factors.

There are 885 million women in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) who remain without mobile internet access.

The majority of these women live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa where factors with deep-rooted social, economic, and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women. This gap is not expected to close on its own.

Furthermore, while many women in LMICs own a smartphone and are connected, those who use mobile internet less frequently or for fewer services cite specific barriers. These include:

Affordability: Entry-level smartphones cost women an average of 24% of their monthly income, which is double the cost for men.

Safety.

Poor connectivity.

These interconnected issues contribute to the persistence of the gap, which saw progress stall in 2024, having also stagnated between 2021 and 2022 and seen little change since 2023. The disparity remains particularly high in South Asia (32%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (29%). Addressing these underlying factors requires increased focus and investment from all stakeholders.

The press release itself is also sourced from the GSMA, and Claire Sibthorpe, who is the Head of Digital Inclusion at the GSMA, provides commentary on the report’s findings. The ‘Mobile Gender Gap Report 2025’ was published on May 14, 2025.