GSMA/Mobile Operators Address Mobile Money Gender Gap

The GSMA said on Monday (Feb. 22) that it has launched what is known as the Connected Women Commitment Initiative, which the collection of mobile phone operators and other firms said represents a commitment to reducing what it termed the “mobile gender gap.”

The association said that the commitments from its members, covering more than 75 million mobile Internet and mobile money customers, will focus on connecting millions of low- and middle-income countries’ women to technology. The initiative ties in with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal that looks to boost the proportion of their female customers.

In a statement released in conjunction with the announcement, Mats Granryd, director general of the association, said: “In an increasingly connected world, women are currently being left behind. GSMA research estimates there are 200 million fewer women than men who own a mobile phone in low- and middle-income countries.”

“But even when women do own a mobile device, they are far less likely to use it for more sophisticated services, such as mobile Internet and mobile money, and therefore miss out on key socioeconomic opportunities. Ensuring digital and financial inclusion for women is critically important, as when women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive.” Movement toward closing that gender gap, the GSMA said, could lead to $170 billion in revenues for the industry at large across the next several years.

The association went on to note that the first members to forge ahead with the initiative, in terms of member operators, include Dialog Axiata PLC, which operates in Sri Lanka, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, based in Malaysia, and a number of other firms based in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Among other things, those firms will seek to boost the number of female agents, improve top-up processes and boost digital literacy.