Existing inequalities in the adoption of digital technologies

Lack of digital skills

Being meaningfully connected relies on having fundamental literacy skills, digital literacy and basic digital skills. On average, only 65 per cent of adults (people aged 15 and older) in LDCs are literate[53], which already excludes 35 per cent of adult population from engaging with digital technology. Of those who are literate, less have the digital literacy and basic digital skills needed to interact with, configure and enhance tools and the online environment beneficially and safely (as an example, in most of the LDCs, digital skill levels remain below 5 per cent[54]).

Gender inequities

Women are more disadvantaged and face more barriers than men across many dimensions such as empowerment, rights, access to labour market, pay and reproductive health. Inequities are not unique to women and people from other marginalised groups – such as persons with disabilities, older persons, LGBT+ community, minority ethnic groups – also face additional obstacles compare to people from more privileged groups. These obstacles can be more severe and result in great inequality in LDCs, where the Gender Inequality Index (GII), is already at 0.62 (benchmark is at 1.00). These barriers accumulate and can even compound, which can have potentially unintended consequences. Women are less likely to: have the basic digital skills and digital literacy to use technology, afford digital products and services, be aware of the benefits of being connected and be encouraged to seize those benefits. All of which reduce online accessibility and prevent their inclusion. More importantly, women with disabilities and women from minority ethnic and social groups are significantly more marginalised than those who are from privileged socio-economic groups.

Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material on this [map/infographic] do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of ITU and of the Secretariat of the ITU concerning the legal status of the country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries

Persons with disabilities inequities

It is estimated that almost 15 per cent of the global population, approximately 1 billion people, lives with some form of a disability[56]. Among older persons, is it estimated that more than 46 per cent live with disabilities[57]. Yet, about 90 per cent of persons with disabilities living in developing countries do not have access to ICT that is accessible[58]. By 2030, it is estimated that 1.4 billion older persons may face age-related disabilities and that this will increase to 2.1 billion by 2050[59]. If inaccessibility is not address, the number of persons with disabilities who are offline is likely to grow.

Opportunity Lost

What would the global economic and social benefit of bringing 2,9 billion people online? The rhetoric of the discussion has always been centred around the importance of digital inclusion as equalizer of societies. But what about the huge opportunity loss of having half of the planet still offline? According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), low and lower-middle income countries lost about USD 24 billion in tax due to gender gap[60]. It is time to "flip the coin” and start looking at the issue of universal connectivity from a different perspective.