In summary, women in developing countries are more likely than men not to have an official identity card, are less likely to own a smartphone and are more likely to have no or inadequate access to banking services.¹ This excludes women from key economic activities and society as a whole.

Using digital services to strengthen women’s economic independence

Greater access to digital services can be an important factor in women’s economic empowerment, but it is not a guarantee. There are other barriers such as social and patriarchal norms that prevent women from engaging in many economic activities. For example, women may be prohibited from buying a smartphone, using the internet, or using a mobile device in public. These challenges underlie the gender gap and generally cannot be solved by introducing other technologies into the ecosystem.

Nevertheless, there are many examples of how developing countries have used digital services to reach marginalized women. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Togo provided emergency digital payments to its citizens, benefiting more women than men, including those in the informal economy. Because Togo had existing digital infrastructure, the country set up these programs quickly and efficiently (within 10 days), providing its citizens with much-needed financial support. Similarly, the Indian government used its Aadhaar identification system to reach over 200 million women during the Covid-19 pandemic and provide them with emergency financial support. In addition, India’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana program, which ensures easy access to financial services, was expanded to include a focus on women, giving rise to the Jan Dhan Plus program. The program encourages low-income women to save regularly; it emphasizes the benefits of saving by linking it to access to microcredit, insurance and pensions; and improves gender sensitivity of bank employees. By April 2023, Jan Dhan Plus had acquired over 12 million women customers, whose average savings increased by over 50 percent in just five months and doubled the number of enrollments in microinsurance and pension schemes.

Beyond financial inclusion, digital services can also be used in other sectors, such as agriculture. In developing countries, women are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of agricultural production, but they often lack access to relevant agricultural information and financial support. It is estimated that women’s farms could increase agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa by 10 to 20 percent if they had equal access to inputs (such as farm equipment, livestock, diversified seed options, fertilizers, and digital technologies). Digital tools enable women to receive information such as weather data, policy updates, and notifications about their legal rights. With access to weather data, women farmers can better estimate when, where, and what to grow. And when women have access to information about laws, regulations, and other policies, they have more tools to protect and grow their businesses.

Developing digital tools with women for women

As mentioned above, providing these technological tools to women does not automatically lead to greater gender equality and economic activity. Women need to be included in the development of the digital ecosystem so that these tools better meet their needs and are relevant to their daily lives. Digital technologies can empower women, but if they are not tailored to women’s experiences and needs, they risk “widening different divides and exacerbating different challenges”.² Excluding women from the design and implementation of DPI has many downsides, including reproducing or integrating biases and offering digital products that are ultimately ineffective for women. Tim Wood, Chief Partnerships Officer at Co-Develop, a nonprofit fund that helps partners roll out safe and inclusive shared DPI at scale, said: “When architecting DPI, gender equality needs to be more than an afterthought; it needs to be the blueprint that guides every decision. We now have an opportunity to address the gender inequalities of the physical world in the digital landscape.”