How Digital Divide Leaves Women And The Rural Poor Behind: Report

Inequality as a subject is a minefield if we sit down to discuss and debate over it. Whether it is based on gender, class divide, caste or geographical terrain, India's structural inequalities have only been for decades now and, unfortunately, the technology is not bridging this wide gap.

A recent report released by Oxfam India revealed these inequalities are becoming visible and more problematic as we go deeper into the digital space.

The report ‘India Inequality 2022: Digital Divide’ gives an insight into the wide gap that has led to the severe challenges that women are facing in reaching out to opportunities which are resulting in them lagging in most spheres of job and life sectors.

The report also surfaced India's position globally, detailing how the country stands way behind when it comes to the gender gap digitally with 40.4 per cent, which is the worst in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Suggested reading: The Gender Divide in India is present even on Facebook!

Digital Divide In India Oxfam Report

In a series of startling figures, the India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide noted that while India has progressed towards embracing technology and digitalisation when it comes to sectors like health, education and finance, the digital revolution has not been experienced by a major part of the country, especially women and the rural poor.

When it came to a divide in the employment status of people, the report disclosed that although 95 per cent of salaries employees owned a cell phone, only 50 per cent of the unemployed population owned one.

The Inequality Effect On Women

The report revealed that Indian women comprise only one-third of all internet users in the country. Stating how the divide has been cruel for women in all respects, the report figured that women in India are 15 per cent less likely to possess a cell phone and 33 per cent less likely to use internet services as compared to men.

The Rural-Urban Divide

The report noted the high divide based on the geographical territories, pointing out that only 41 per cent of the rural population used internet service compared to 67per cent of the urban population. This divide remains wide and problematic despite an essential 13 per cent digital growth in a year.

The Pandemic's Effect On The Divide

Although the pandemic drove the country towards widespread use of digitalisation, as India experienced the largest number of digital payment transactions in 2021 marking 48.6 billion amount, the divide between the rich and the poor still remains a cause of concern.

It was noted that digital payments by the richest sixty per cent population in India were four times more than the poorest forty per cent of the population. Unfortunately, the pandemic also pushed people who were not digitally aware to use digital mediums on the go because of the need of the hour. Reportedly, about 84 government school teachers struggled as they were compelled to deliver teachings through digital mediums in areas and spaces where there was a lack of connection or devices.

Amitabh Behar, the Oxfam CEO, noted that although digitalisation could have made services and usage of the internet easier and better in the country across states and regions, it did not happen the way it was intended.

On one hand, as the rich and privileged made complete and essential use of digital mediums for varied services, the people who belonged to rural areas could not get their hands on technology or services whatsoever. The gap, therefore, increased instead of decreasing.

While digitalisation is meant to bridge the gender, class or geographical divide, recent reports reveal that this is not the case. In fact, people in India are being subjected to unfair trials and tribulations in life because they are either not educated enough to access services or they belong to areas where, unfortunately, digitalisation has not made an impact yet. If India is to grow holistically taking people from all across states and regions together, technology will have to be available to all in a manner where people are given fair opportunities and ace to grow.