Bridging The Digital Gender Divide For Attaining Gender Equality And Women Empowerment In India


Authors : Dr. Susan Alex; Dr. Gayatri Agarwal

Volume/Issue : Volume 9 - 2024, Issue 12 - December

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/bdd7nxff

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3m2cdujm

DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14500340

Abstract : Digitalization is a broad term used for the digital transformation of the economy. It refers to the digital transformation process that uses an integrated approach of using digital technologies in all areas of a business, impacting the business operations and distributes value to its customers. The Indian government has launched several digital projects to encourage women's digital empowerment to promoting gender equality and sustainable development. In order to mitigates gender gaps, the Indian Government's digital literacy efforts are crucial as it enables women to have a sustainable future, encourages socio-economic inclusion, and encourages digital technology access. Among the challenges faced by girls and young women are limited access to education, professional training and economic opportunities as well as gender- and age-based discrimination along with digital gender-based violence and harassment. The greater usage of digital services has multi-fold gains to women has it gives them greater access to markets, information and along with more flexible working arrangements. This can bring in more technical education and the economic empowerment of women can bring dramatic gains in human development and well- being for individuals, families and society. This paper studies the role of digitalization in attaining gender equality and women empowerment in India, and aims to understand the issues and obstacles as well as the approaches and remedies to overcome these impediments towards bridging the digital gender gap in India.

Keywords : Digitalization, Digital Inclusion, Women Empowerment, Socio-Economic Inclusion.

References :

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  3. FiinovationAdmin. (2023, March 10). Digital Gender Gap: Decoding The India Story. Fiinovation. https://fiinovation.co.in/digital-gender-gap-decoding-the-india-story/
  4. India needs to double down on bridging its digital gender gap. (n.d.). UNFPA India. https://india.unfpa.org/en/news/india-needs-double-down-bridging-its-digital-gender-gap#:~:text=Data%20on%20the%20use%20of,compared%20with%20women%20at%2033.3%25.%20%20%20https://niitfoundation.org/bridging-the-digital-divide-empowering-rural-india/
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  9. Roundtable on Digital Inclusion. (n.d.). Roundtable on Digital Inclusion. (2024, November 7). https://www.un.org/techenvoy/sites/www.un.org.techenvoy/files/general/Definition_Digital-Inclusion.pdf
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  14. Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide, Granryd, M., Bokova, I., Grown, C., Melhem, S., Ramilo, C. G., Galpaya, H., Jorge, S., Chang, A. M., World Bank, Association for Progressive Communications (APC), LIRNEasia, Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) and Web Foundation, Broadband Commission Secretariat, Souter, D., & Van Der Spuy, A. (2017). Recommendations for action: bridging the gender gap in Internet and broadband access and use (By United Nations, GSMA, & UNESCO). (2024, November 10). https://broadbandcommission.org/Documents/publications/WorkingGroupDigitalGenderDivide-report2017.pdf

Digitalization is a broad term used for the digital transformation of the economy. It refers to the digital transformation process that uses an integrated approach of using digital technologies in all areas of a business, impacting the business operations and distributes value to its customers. The Indian government has launched several digital projects to encourage women's digital empowerment to promoting gender equality and sustainable development. In order to mitigates gender gaps, the Indian Government's digital literacy efforts are crucial as it enables women to have a sustainable future, encourages socio-economic inclusion, and encourages digital technology access. Among the challenges faced by girls and young women are limited access to education, professional training and economic opportunities as well as gender- and age-based discrimination along with digital gender-based violence and harassment. The greater usage of digital services has multi-fold gains to women has it gives them greater access to markets, information and along with more flexible working arrangements. This can bring in more technical education and the economic empowerment of women can bring dramatic gains in human development and well- being for individuals, families and society. This paper studies the role of digitalization in attaining gender equality and women empowerment in India, and aims to understand the issues and obstacles as well as the approaches and remedies to overcome these impediments towards bridging the digital gender gap in India.

Keywords : Digitalization, Digital Inclusion, Women Empowerment, Socio-Economic Inclusion.

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