Digital gender equality strives to connect half the world to the internet

• by Sonal Jaitly and Akhand Tiwari
• Mar 22, 2024
• 3 min

Most women-led businesses face entry barriers when they seek to tap into e-commerce platforms. Estimates suggest that countries have missed out on USD 1 trillion in GDP due to women’s exclusion from the digital world. India’s G20 presidency prioritizes women-led development. Therefore, the country must translate its bold commitments into actions to close the gender digital divide.

Women-led development is one of the core focus areas of India’s G20 presidency. Since 2015, G20 has improved its focus on prioritizing and mainstreaming gender equality. The G20 Bali leader’s declaration mentions women ‘17’ times and ‘digital’ 33 times. It commits to putting gender equality at the core of G20 efforts for sustainable development. 

Digital gender equality can be achieved when women benefit equally from the possibilities and potential of the internet. India has put in place the building blocks to achieve this by creating a robust digital public infrastructure (DPI).  DPI created the foundation for open networks in MSME credit, universal health coverage, and e-commerce. 

More than 50% of women in the workforce are self-employed. E-commerce lowers barriers to entry for these entrepreneurs and enables greater market access. However, small sellers, the majority of whom are women-led businesses, find it hard to pay the heavy platform commissions and typically earn less on platforms. Finding ways to include them will not only lead to greater equality but will also boost the GDP.  India’s ONDC may bring this about by disrupting the e-commerce space to create a level playing field for smaller sellers. Onboarding more women sellers online and closing the gender gap in earnings on e-commerce platforms has multiple benefits. It brings more women sellers online, provides greater access to markets, and increases sales, incentivizing the entry of more women entrepreneurs.

Similarly, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of Niti Aayog is another example of a DPG addressing information and networking needs of women entrepreneurs. 

Government eMarketplace (GeM) which facilitates public procurement of goods and services for government entities, has set a target of 3% procurement from women entrepreneurs. Reportedly, 1.44 lakh micro, small women enterprises have fulfilled orders worth Rs 21,265 crore in gross merchandise value (GMV).

In a world where access to resources is increasingly mediated by technology, inclusive digital Innovation has a key role to play. When deliberately designed to be equitable, innovation creates a vital pathway for gender equality. Focus on gender-inclusive digital innovation becomes even more critical in the face of the enormous gender digital divide.  

There is ample evidence that a widening gender digital divide risks women being left behind. Over 30 years after the internet was born, one-third of the world’s population remains offline. Many among the online population, especially women and girls, are not “meaningfully connected” because of a lack of access to devices or connectivity that is unreliable, slow, or costly connectivity; or lack of digital skills needed to get the most out of devices and services. 

​The digital gender gap is also costly. Estimates suggest that countries have missed out on USD 1 trillion in GDP due to women’s exclusion from the digital world. 

One lesson the previous industrial revolutions can teach us about the 4th Industrial Revolution is that if old jobs are destroyed, new jobs are created where there are capital and innovation capabilities. The emerging economies of G20 have demonstrated the latter significantly. India’s DPI starting to facilitate women entrepreneurs through various digital public goods like ONDC and GeM is the best example of this. 

As India convenes the third G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment this year, it’s time to show what global solidarity could do to close the gender digital divide. Only bold commitments translated into concrete actions will ensure that half of the G20 population is not left behind in the rapidly digitalizing global economy. 

The article was first published in The Economic Times on 30th April 2023.