Highest male-female gap on cell-phone ownership registered in Pakistan: report.

Byline: Kalbe Ali

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has the highest male-female gap in terms of mobile phone set ownership among 15 countries, said a report issued on Thursday by the GSMA, an organisation representing the interests of mobile operators worldwide.

According to the report, the gender gap over mobile internet usage in Pakistan is even higher.

The report highlights that among all the 15 countries only Brazil had the negative male-female mobile phone ownership and mobile internet use, where 84 per cent adult males owned a mobile phone compared to 85pc female adult population.

The 'Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020' is based on the annual GSMA Intelligence Consumer Survey of 2019 belonging to 15 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The base of the consumer survey is the total population aged 18 years and above, and a mobile phone owner is defined as a person who has sole or main use of a SIM card or a mobile phone that does not require a SIM and uses it at least once a month.

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 highlights that Pakistan has the highest gender gap of 38pc over mobile phone ownership as 81pc Pakistani males owned mobile sets compared to 50pc females.

Similarly, the gap over mobile internet usage was 49pc, with 37pc Pakistani males against 19pc females having access to mobile internet.

The report highlights that despite progress, the gender gap in mobile internet usage remains substantial, with more than 300 million fewer women than men accessing the internet from a mobile device.

It has been said that affordability remains the critical barrier to mobile phone ownership, while lower awareness, as well as a lack of literacy and digital skills, are vital factors preventing women's mobile internet use.

The report highlighted that the industry is renewing its commitment to reaching women with digital and financial services to address the persistent mobile gender gap.

The report finds that the mobile internet gender gap has narrowed and 54pc of women in LMICs now use mobile internet, up from 44pc in 2017. However, the gender gap in mobile ownership remains largely unchanged and 165 million fewer women than men own a mobile.

The research found that mobile offers essential benefits to users, and the majority of male and female mobile owners reported that mobile ownership makes them feel safer, better...