We are alarmed by the findings of a recent Unicef report that highlights that 90 percent of young women and teenage girls in the world's poorest countries have no access to the internet. The report notes the tremendous risks women would face owing to this growing digital divide in an increasingly digitised world. While the poor are left behind in general from reaping the benefits of digitisation, it is, as always, women and girls who are the most adversely affected. A whopping 65 million adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 don't have access to the internet, compared to some 57 million of their male peers in the world's poorest nations. Such digital gaps, if left unaddressed, would only exacerbate the existing inequalities in the coming days.

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We need more women at the top

This digital gap is a cause for major concern in Bangladesh, too. Despite the government's commitment towards creating a digital Bangladesh, there is no escaping the digital gender divide. A report of the Population and Housing Census 2022 revealed that only 45.53 percent of women use mobile phones in the country, in comparison to 66.53 percent of men. The numbers are even more abysmal when it comes to internet use. The UN report, too, confirmed that the female youth in poorer nations are 13 percent less likely to own a mobile phone than their male counterparts.

Reportedly, women's exclusion from the digital world has caused a loss of $1 trillion for the economies of developing countries over the last decade.

Inequality in access to digital services has multifaceted repercussions on women, including limiting their access to education, healthcare, employment, entertainment, etc. In a patriarchal society where they are already struggling to catch up, such inequalities will only increase the knowledge gap and skill disparities between men and women and invariably limit women's participation in a digital economy. Worryingly, this is already visible in tech, start-up and IT sector jobs, where males make up the majority of the workforce. 

Reportedly, women's exclusion from the digital world has caused a loss of $1 trillion for the economies of developing countries over the last decade. Other than the economic benefits, improving women's safe and equal access to digital technologies will lead to creative solutions for women, by women, to meet their multifarious needs. Now more than ever, access to digital services is not only a matter of gender equality, but also a prerequisite for sustainable development.

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300 years needed to reach full gender equality

Our government should acknowledge that its goal of "Smart Bangladesh" by 2041 cannot be achieved without making women and girls an active part of the process. Bridging the gap will also help them inch closer to the nation's goal of SDG 5. The government must heavily invest in increasing women's digital literacy and access to digital services. Government, international donor agencies and the private sector should be mindful not to reproduce the existing hierarchies through new technologies. We must ensure that the emerging data-driven solutions don't reinforce discrimination and harmful gender stereotypes that continue to circumscribe women's lives. We also need legal and policy frameworks that both educate and protect women from cybercrimes to ensure that they continue to participate in the digital revolution.