BY BETELEHM BEDLU
Digitization has become the order of the day. Like other aspects, with the digitization of the world traditional economies are looking for more innovative ways of business opportunities creating jobs, and deepening entrepreneurship. And, to meet the rising demands of human needs for socioeconomic and narrow down income inequalities, and foster inclusive economic growth, countries are exploring more technologies and innovative mechanisms.
Undisputedly, digitization has opened a window of ample opportunities with nations increasingly becoming hell-bent to invest and tap the platforms. Being gender neutral, technologies and innovations are turning out to be an efficient recipe to foster inclusive socio-economic development.
Particularly, expanding the digital economy remains a key priority in women’s empowerment and digitalizing the economy appears to be the call of the day. This is especially true for people living in poor countries, where social prejudice, financial shortage, policy issues, and other constraints sometimes hinder women from claiming their legitimate positions in the country’s economy.
Revolutionizing traditional economies with digital ones should in fact be a top rung in the development policies of African nations that have limited resources and finance to empower women. Apparently, African women still lead improvised life compared to men. Despite little headways, the integration of women into a digital economy is at a nascent stage and remains a tall-order job. That is why; economists and policy advisors have been calling on African nations to zoom in on the digital economy to improve the livelihood of African women. The soundest argument is that even if women are otherwise excluded from traditional labor markets, they can find a way to support themselves in the digital economy.
Exploiting the potential of digital economies heavily lies on the African government, their commitment towards Artificial Intelligence and the will of policymakers to incorporate digital economy in the daily activities of the society. The main advantage of the digital economy in this globalized world is that it makes life easy and creates permanent and temporary job opportunities for hundreds and thousands of people without their physical existence. This is especially true for African women whose life is full of burden.
The obstacles to participating in the digital economy can frequently be just as challenging to overcome as those that prohibit women from participating in the traditional economy. Unfair internet access and other limitations are major challenges to women from properly utilizing the digital economy in their daily activities. This is
especially true in rural areas where the internet hardly exists. According to the World Bank, there has been an improvement in the connectivity of developing countries to the digital world. This has quickly advanced, particularly in the area of mobile penetration. However, there is still a significant divide when it comes to internet access.
The latest edition of the biennial African Women’s Report reveals persistent barriers in the digital finance sector that limit women’s economic empowerment in Africa, while recommending policy responses to overcome them. As to a study on the digital economy that only 18% of African men have an internet connection. The gender disparity in connection is considerably greater: only 12% of African women have internet access.
The report pinpointed five key issues affecting the use of digital finance as a catalyst for women’s economic empowerment in Africa. First, despite having more mobile money services than anywhere else in the world, women’s access to digital services, mobile, and the internet in Africa is limited due to illiteracy, cost, skills gap, and social norms.
Second, while impressive gains are made in improving women’s digital finance skills, Africa lags behind compared to other regions. For instance, the share of women with digital finance skills in North Africa has doubled from 12.5 percent in 2014 to 25.7 percent in 2018 – surpassing the global average of about 20 percent. However, the same figure stands at only 12 percent for the entire continent.
Third, only 33 percent of women in Africa have a formal bank account compared to 43 percent of men. This gap, together with limited access to economic assets, escalates women’s vulnerability and exclusion from profitable sectors and formal jobs. Fourth, social norms as well as inherent biases in financial practices, products, and services adversely impact women.
Finally, the lack of women’s participation in decision-making processes, as well as in financial and technology fields, means digital finance policies and products are unlikely to include women’s perspectives and meet their needs. In addition, in some African countries, women are nine times less likely to have formal identification than men, which impedes their ability to access, own and use digital finance services freely and safely.
Speaking about the report, Edlam Yemeru, acting Director of ECA’s Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division, said: “Africa is a global leader in several transactional technologies such as mobile money but there remains considerable scope to scale up digital finance and ensure that women can take full advantage of the resulting opportunities. This requires addressing a number of barriers related to connectivity, digital literacy, cost, laws, and culture. Our report takes a holistic approach in looking at the digital finance ecosystem and defines policy options for governments to develop the sector further and accelerate financial inclusion while paving the way for women’s economic empowerment – leaving no one behind.”
The report outlines 10 policy responses for governments to consider in ensuring their national digital ecosystem supports, not challenges, women’s economic empowerment. Specific responses include prioritizing female representation in the sector, up-skilling people – especially women – in digital finance, reforming laws for greater mobile money uptake, and designing gender-sensitive policies that combine technology with social development. The report proposes that sex-disaggregated data on internet usage, mobile ownership, and financial literacy should be part of national household surveys to inform the design of relevant policies.
The report also urges African countries to establish regional digital finance regulatory and justice frameworks using the African Continental Free Trade Area as a platform to enable digital identities and improve cross-border cooperation. The digital economy can provide women with a means of earning a living. Overcoming the barriers facing women behooves sound policies and strategies.
As they said, the world has reached a point where digital literacy is fundamental to finding a job. Future Jobs will require digital skills. As the world continues to go through an irreversible transformation at an alarming speed, the digital economy is not an option but a must. And, to achieve true economic empowerment through technology, women cannot be left behind!
The Ethiopian Herald October 8/2022
