Relatively lower phone ownership, internet access, and social media presence mean women already have limited options to access and share information as it relates to their health. The problem is only compounded when this barrier intersects with other factors, including:
- Income.
- Geography.
- Education levels.
Limited digital access translated to barriers in accessing family planning information. For example, Onyinye Edeh, founder of the Strong Enough Girls Empowerment Initiative, observes from working in Nigeria that younger girls may be forbidden by their parents from using social media. This causes them to miss out on important information and knowledge related to family planning among other topics.
The digital gender gap further enforces inequity in knowledge management for global health. Digital platforms themselves reflect gender biases: Men are the primary stakeholders in their development and design. Women are not necessarily intended to be the target user. This, when combined with the obstacles to accessing these platforms, can have a snowball effect that perpetuates the gap. The digital gender gap extends across many fields and populations, posing a serious challenge to program designers and implementers.
The Digital Gender Gap and COVID-19: What Does This Mean for Access to Family Planning Information and Services?
While many family planning programs had already adopted digital technology to support some service delivery tasks, such as counseling, follow-up, and referral, this shift accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Are decision-makers considering the gaps in access to and use of digital technologies as this shift continues? The mHealth researchers and practitioners we spoke with warned that programs, policies, and general COVID-19 adaptations can do more to address the digital gender gap. For example, a common adaptation is phone-based hotlines to discuss family planning options with a counselor, but are those hotlines accessible by rural women? By women who don’t have much training on how to use a mobile phone? By women whose husbands control their phone use? These are important questions for us to think about when implementing a digital adaptation.
Digital health innovations will best serve clients and support providers only if steps are taken to ensure equity in implementation. Recognizing how your family planning program can integrate gender-equitable concepts and strategies will help lessen the exclusionary effects of the digital gender gap.