Celebrating Women’s Day 2025: Bridging the Gender Gap Through Financial Inclusion and Mobile Connectivity

On March 8th, we celebrated International Women’s Day 2025, a moment to honor the resilience, ingenuity, and untapped potential of women worldwide. At Global Voice Group, we recognize the transformative power of technology in empowering women, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where digital and financial inclusion remain critical challenges. This year, we reflect on the progress made in closing the gender gap in mobile connectivity and its role in driving financial inclusion.

The Gender Gap in Mobile Connectivity

Mobile internet is a lifeline for millions of women in LMICs, providing access to education, healthcare, financial services, and income-generating opportunities. However, significant gender disparities persist:

• Mobile Internet Usage: In 2023, 66% of women in LMICs (1.5 billion) used mobile internet compared to 78% of men. While this marks an increase for women, it still translates to a 15% gender gap, with 265 million fewer women than men using mobile internet.
• Unconnected Women: Approximately 785 million women in LMICs remain unconnected to mobile internet, with 60% of them residing in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Smartphone Ownership: The gender gap in smartphone ownership narrowed slightly from 15% in 2022 to 13% in 2023, but 200 million fewer women than men still own a smartphone.
• Barriers to Access: The primary barriers include affordability (particularly of handsets), literacy and digital skills gaps, and social norms that limit women’s access to technology.

Progress and Opportunities

Despite these challenges, there has been notable progress:

1. Narrowing the Gender Gap: For the first time since 2020, the gender gap in mobile internet adoption narrowed from 19% in 2022 to 15% in 2023, driven by faster adoption rates among women compared to men.
2. Daily Usage: Most women who use mobile internet access it daily and report its positive impact on their lives. Social media and instant messaging are the most common use cases for both men and women.
3. Awareness Growth: Awareness of mobile internet has reached near parity between men and women in most survey countries, with over 80% of people aware of its existence.

Accelerating Financial Inclusion with Technology

At Global Voice Group, we believe that bridging the gender gap in mobile connectivity is key to achieving financial inclusion for women. Here’s how our solutions can help:

1. Digital Financial Platforms: By supporting governments with tools like Mobile Money Monitoring (M3), we enhance transparency and governance within digital ecosystems, ensuring equitable access for women.
2. Data-Driven Insights: Our analytics empower policymakers to identify gender-specific barriers and craft targeted interventions.
3. Consumer Protection: Our tools help mitigate fraud risks and ensure safer digital environments for female users.

A Call to Action

While progress has been made, much work remains to close the digital and financial inclusion gaps for women worldwide. Addressing barriers such as affordability, literacy, and social norms is essential to empower more women with the tools they need to thrive.

This International Women’s Day, we salute all women—those breaking barriers in their communities, leading businesses, innovating industries, and inspiring change globally. Together, let’s create a future where technology bridges gaps rather than widens them, ensuring equal opportunities for all.