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Persistent barriers related to affordability, skills, and safety continue to limit digital inclusion for women in low- and middle-income countries
LONDONJune 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — According to the GSMA’s 2026 Mobile Gender Gap Report released today, the gender gap in mobile internet usage narrowed slightly in 2025. However, progress remains slow and uneven. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), women are still 12% less likely than men to use mobile internet. This equates to 200 million fewer women than men using mobile internet, with a total of 810 million women in LMICs not using mobile internet.
Geographic disparities persist
Of the 810 million women in LMICs who still do not use mobile internet, more than two-thirds live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where the gender gaps in mobile internet access are the largest, at 26% and 25%, respectively. Additionally, within LMICs, the gender gap in rural areas is typically two to three times larger than in urban areas.
Barriers to access
The primary way people in LMICs access the internet is through mobile phones. However, the gender gap in smartphone ownership in LMICs is 13%, with approximately 210 million fewer women than men owning smartphones. The main barriers include affordability (primarily of phones), literacy, and digital skills. Due to social norms and structural inequalities such as lower levels of education and income, women are disproportionately affected by these barriers.
Claire Sibthorpe, Head of Digital Inclusion at GSMA, said: “Although the mobile gender gap has been slowly narrowing since 2022, there remain significant and persistent gender disparities in access to and use of mobile internet that require more action to address. We are living in an increasingly digital world, and technologies like artificial intelligence are exacerbating the digital divide and inequality, making it even more critical to ensure digital inclusion for all.”
Closing the mobile gender gap
Closing the gender gap in mobile internet usage in LMICs from 2023 to 2030 could contribute $1.3 trillion to global GDP. Mobile internet access can profoundly transform women’s lives, enhancing their resilience and adaptability in the face of economic, climate, and political shocks.
More than 50 mobile operators have joined the GSMA Connected Women Commitment Initiative to accelerate digital and financial inclusion for women. Since 2016, they have reached over 90 million additional women with mobile internet or mobile money services.