If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got some sort of internet access. Currently, more than half of the global population is connected to the internet, and while some regions still lack the infrastructure to provide sufficient coverage, others have internet penetration rates close to 100 percent. Globally, the US ranks third in digital populations with over 311 million internet users. The US has also increased its digital population for over two decades, and today, over 90 percent of Americans have access. However, despite those impressive numbers, the US Government Accountability Office (USGAO) reports that millions of Americans either don’t have broadband available or can’t afford to pay for it. The gap between those with and without access to broadband has become known as the “digital divide.”
The Digital Divide in the United States
This matters because access to broadband (high speed) internet is more than Facebook or Twitter, a few blog posts, or your favorite podcasts. Limited or no access has a profound effect on people’s lives, impacting their access to education, employment, healthcare, and other essential services. It can also lead to social isolation and economic inequality. Access is critical to everyday activities, and it levels the playing field socially, politically, and economically. Most importantly, access is not a luxury. When it comes to economic and human development, it’s a necessity. According to the World Bank, internet access in both developed and developing countries, is “essential for services like education and healthcare, offers increased opportunities for women’s empowerment and environmental sustainability, and contributes to enhanced government transparency and accountability.”
In the US many of those who don’t have broadband attribute it to cost, and there are federal programs designed to help, like the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program. However for many households, closing the digital divide is challenged by availability. While the UGSAO reports improvements in satellite technology and 5G access, there is still a significant gap in urban areas where high speed broadband coverage is often limited in low-income areas, and between US urban and rural populations because of infrastructure limitations.
This impacts a number of organizations – including those of us here at Women Connect4Good. Our producer lives in a rural area and while her dream home, recently built on her dream land, ticks all of the boxes, reliable access to broadband is a never-ending problem. That impacts her ability to do her job, interferes with her access to Zoom meetings, and hinders her productivity, in addition to her access for streaming and entertainment, which is spotty during high usage evening hours. “When we upgraded our podcasts to video on Zoom, my old DSL was so slow, the video wouldn’t play. I paid a hefty installation fee, plus an expensive monthly fee for line of sight internet, which was capable until the tower went down in a storm. After a month with no internet, I switched to cell phone internet—still expensive, but more reliable. The important thing to note is that it’s expensive and there are thousands of families in rural America trying to homeschool kids who can’t pay for it.”
Globally the Divide is Leaving Women Behind
Lack of access in developing countries is posing an even greater risk – especially to women. The World Economic Forum (WEF) reports that 34% of the global population (2.7 billion people) remain offline and left behind. A recent UNICEF report finds that nine out of 10 women and teenage girls in the world’s poorest countries have no access – which means they could be left behind economically in an increasingly connected world. The report, which looked at data usage in 54 mostly low-income nations, also found that 90 percent of adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 are offline, compared to 78 percent of their male peers. These girls and young women are being “shut out when it comes to digital skills.” Part of that is due to mobile phone ownership, which overwhelmingly disadvantages adolescent girls and young women. UNICEF reports that “across 41 countries and territories analyzed, female youth are nearly 13 percent less likely to own a mobile phone than male youth within the same household, limiting their ability to participate in the digital world.”
Globally, the problems are widespread, and among the countries and territories analyzed, only eight achieved gender parity in internet use. These underserved areas and impoverished regions need access, and they need to make it equal. It’s an “all hands on deck” situation because the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are going to have to work together to find and implement solutions to finally bridge the divide.
World Pulse is Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
World Pulse, an independent, women-led, global social network, has been leading the way when it comes to digital inclusion for women and girls for more than 15 years, and is an organizational partner and friend to Women Connect4Good. Through their social network, training programs and collaboration with tech industry partners, World Pulse is leading the way to close the gender digital divide. Their Digital Ambassador program reaches into global communities historically left out of the digital world and provides training to help members connect and create change together.
Their approach elevates the voices of emerging women leaders, and uses a systematic monitoring, evaluation and learning methodology to examine how digital empowerment leads to members taking action for personal and social change. World Pulse Digital Ambassadors work on issues that directly affect them and their communities—from human rights to peace and security, women’s health, climate change, economic power, educational equality, gender-based violence and more.
Most recently the Ambassadors – a group of more than 150 leaders from 30 countries – kicked off their 2023 efforts on International Women’s Day, holding “trainathon” events using a new World Pulse-developed curriculum. Trainathon events are one part of World Pulse’s commitment to building grassroots momentum around bridging the gender digital divide through Her Digital Leadership Alliance – an initiative connecting women in 50 countries with digital skills to build grassroots momentum around bridging the gender digital divide. Her Digital Leadership Alliance is a collaborative project launched by World Pulse and dozens of business, government, women’s rights and digital rights partners, including Equinix – who recently granted World Pulse $100,000 for the initiative. The program offers:
- Online digital training and an online peer community hosted by World Pulse
- Digital certification to support career opportunities and advancement
- Extensive global partnerships with organizations that serve women
- Real-time member impact tracking of initiatives and movements via an online impact dashboard
- Crowdsourcing and amplifying women’s voices to international decision-makers.
Her Digital Leadership Alliance is a five-year commitment with business, government, and civil society to equip 20,000 grassroots women leaders with digital leadership, advocacy, and trainer skills. The initiative demonstrates the collective impact that’s possible when corporate and nonprofit leaders come together in trust-based philanthropic partnerships to support grassroots change.
World Pulse is turning women’s lives around by turning their challenges into opportunities. They see girls and young women being left behind and guide us to concentrate our efforts and focus on them first. We also need to recognize that no one can do this alone. There are corporations, government entities and nonprofit organizations around the world joining forces to innovate, share resources and solve digital inclusion collaboratively. It is important to partner with an organization – like World Pulse – and individuals who are working to balance the scales. By working together, we can help to close the gender and economic digital divide and create a more equitable world for everyone.