[October 25, 2016] |
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GSMA Announces Additional Commitments from Indian Operators to Reduce Mobile Gender Gap by 2020
At the GSMA Mobile 360 - India conference today, the GSMA announced a
further three signatories to the Connected Women Commitment Initiative,
which focuses on reducing the gender gap in mobile internet and mobile
money services. Aircel (News - Alert), Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have made a
commitment to increase the number of women accessing mobile internet
services, with additional commitment from Vodafone (News - Alert) to grow its base of
female mobile money customers. Collectively representing over 100
million customers in these service areas, Aircel, Bharti Airtel (News - Alert) and
Vodafone now join with other GSMA operator members in committing to
connect millions more women in low- and middle-income countries by 2020.
GSMA research has shown that in India, there are significant gender gaps
in mobile internet and mobile money services, which prevent women from
reaping the full benefits of mobile phone ownership. Further, according
to the World Bank's Findex 2014 data1, women in India are 66
per cent less likely to have used and benefitted from mobile money
services in the past 12 months.
"Addressing the gender gap in mobile phone ownership is an important
topic that business leaders and governments will be discussing at the
GSMA's Mobile 360 - India event," said Mats Granryd, Director General,
GSMA. "GSMA research2 shows that South Asia has the highest
gender gap globally in mobile phone ownership and that women in India
are estimated to be 36 per cent less likely to own a mobile than men,
translating into an estimated 114 million fewer women who are benefiting
from mobile services. Ensuring digital and financial inclusion for women
is essential, because when women thrive, societies and economies thrive."
These latest commitments by three of India's leading operators build on
the 15 million women already benefiting from female-focused services
offered by GSMA Connected Women operator partners. Through the Connected
Women Commitment Initiative, operators are working to increase the
proportion of their female customers, suppoting the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 5, which focuses
on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
Operators participating in the Connected Women Commitment Initiative are
implementing a range of programmes to address the gender gap, including:
increasing the number of female agents; improving the data top-up
process to be safer and more appealing to women; and improving digital
literacy among women through educational programmes and interactive
content. Closing the gender gap in mobile phone ownership and usage in
the developing world could unlock an estimated US$170 billion market
opportunity for the mobile industry in the period 2015-2020.
The Connected Women Commitment Initiative was launched in February 2016
and has now received 30 commitments from 22 operators. In addition to
Aircel, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone in India, signatories include Dialog
Axiata PLC in Sri Lanka, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) in
Malaysia, Indosat (News - Alert) Ooredoo in Indonesia, Ooredoo Maldives, Orange Mali,
Ooredoo Myanmar, Robi Axiata Limited in Bangladesh, Smart Burundi, Smart
Tanzania, Smart Uganda, Tigo Chad, Tigo Ghana, Tigo Rwanda Tigo Senegal,
Tigo Tanzania, Turkcell (News - Alert) and Zantel which totals well over 200 million
mobile internet and mobile money customers where a mobile operator has
made a commitment (i.e. mobile internet or mobile money). Find out more
about the Connected Women Commitment Initiative at http://gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/the-commitment.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
1 www.worldbank.org/en/programs/globalfindex
2www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/programmes/connected-women/bridging-gender-gap
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting
nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading
events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and
the Mobile 360 Series conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com.
Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161024005921/en/
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