Beyond the Access Gap: Gendered Realities of Digital Inclusion in Africa with Evidence from Four Countries
Research ICT Africa
Session 162
Global commitments to digital inclusion continue to treat access as the primary measure of progress, yet growing evidence shows that having a device or an internet connection does not guarantee meaningful participation. Women and girls across Africa face a layered set of barriers, including affordability constraints that force them to ration data, domestic power dynamics in which husbands control phone access, cultural norms that cast women's online visibility as transgressive, and digital platforms designed without regard for accessibility or safety.
Session Description
This workshop presents findings from the After Access Gender Study, a multi-country qualitative research initiative by Research ICT Africa that, among other indicators, examines how gender shapes digital access, use, and outcomes in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda. Drawing on over 1,000 in-depth interviews and focus groups across 18 sites with four population groups: adolescent girls, female teachers, women health workers, and women's collectives/entrepreneurs, the study documents how women actually experience digital technologies in their daily personal and professional lives.
This session will present evidence on five cross-cutting themes that emerged across all four countries: the affordability paradox, cultural barriers to device access and connectivity, the role of informal peer networks as the primary channel for digital skills development, technology-facilitated gender-based violence as a constraint on women's digital participation, and the compounding effects of disability on gendered digital exclusion. Critically, the workshop will examine how these barriers differ across national contexts — from Ethiopia's post-conflict digital landscape to Ghana's north-south infrastructure divide, Nigeria's framing of digital spaces as sites of gendered power, and Uganda's experience with mandated government digital systems.
Participants will engage with the evidence through structured discussion to identify actionable policy and programmatic interventions that address the structural roots of gendered digital inequality.
Kola Ijasan, the Research Director at Research ICT Africa. He is an accomplished research and development leader with nearly two decades of experience across Africa, Europe, and North America. He previously served as an Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Construction Economics and Management, where he spent 11 years. His research focuses on the built environment, housing regeneration, urbanisation, and the intersection of policy and digital systems. He has supervised more than 20 master's and PhD students and holds expertise in strategic innovation and data-driven policy development.
Zaituni Njovu is the Executive Director of Zaina Foundation, a Tanzania-based organisation that promotes digital rights and inclusion through privacy capacity-building, policy reform, research, advocacy for internet freedom, and the localisation of technological tools into Swahili. She is a Digital Rights and Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert with extensive experience in internet governance, digital security, and human rights. Zaituni has actively participated in regional and global forums, training, and workshops on digital rights, online safety, and policy development. She holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Governance.
Esther Nyapendi is a Ugandan Information Technologist based in Entebbe, with a focus on digital inclusion, gender rights, and digital rights advocacy. She serves as a Technical Support Officer at the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), where she empowers women, girls, and minority groups through technology. She has collaborated with the Alan Turing Institute as a research assistant and managed projects funded by organisations including the Association for Progressive Communications, Urgent Action Fund, and ICANN. Her work spans digital security consulting, research, and community empowerment. She actively participates in internet governance forums, including the Uganda Internet Governance Forum and the African School on Internet Governance.
Senior Manager, Partnerships and Engagements at Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a social enterprise advocating for digital rights and inclusion in Africa. A human rights lawyer, researcher, and social justice activist based in Zimbabwe, she has over a decade of experience in legal and civic engagement. She coordinates digital rights networks and builds partnerships across Africa and beyond, engaging at national, regional, and international platforms. She serves as Membership Officer for the African Digital Rights Network and manages key projects, including the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF). She holds a Master of Laws degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa.
Liz Orembo is the International Engagements Lead at Research ICT Africa, where she coordinates RIA's engagements in regional and global tech policy processes, including WSIS, GDC, AI Dialogues, and the IGF. Her research focuses on Data Governance, AI Governance, and Information Integrity. Prior to WSIS and the Global AI Dialogues, she convened African stakeholders to discuss national AI strategies and the region's priorities for the AI Dialogues processes. Liz is also the chair of the Africa Tech Policy Summit and a member of the Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Committee.
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C3. Access to information and knowledge
C2. Information and communication infrastructure: We will look at barriers relating to infrastructure connectivity and device ownesship.
C3. Access to information and knowledge: The session will target the logistical and systemic barriers to access.
C4. Capacity building: We will cover digital literacy equality. focusing on women and marginalised communities in basic and advanced ICT skills to ensure equal economic opportunities.
C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society: Covering human rights and equity.
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Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
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Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
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Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
This session directly advances the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by highlighting evidence on how gender-differentiated barriers to digital inclusion undermine progress across multiple SDGs. It includes a presentation of empirical findings from four African countries while contributing to to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) through analysis of how patriarchal norms, safety concerns, and control over devices limit women's and girls' digital agency. It also speaks to SDG 4 (Quality Education) by examining digital literacy gaps and the structural barriers that prevent women and marginalised communities from developing skills needed for economic participation. SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) is addressed through the session's focus on intersecting inequalities of gender, geography, and socioeconomic status that shape who benefits from the digital economy. Finally, the session connects to SDG 1 (No Poverty) by demonstrating how exclusion from digital spaces perpetuates economic vulnerability among women and girls.
- Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
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