In today's fast-evolving world, digital access is no longer an indulgence it is a requirement. As the global economy becomes more influenced by technology, digital access is directly linked to opportunity, mobility, and economic empowerment. For Ugandan women, especially those in rural areas or in informal business, filling the digital gender gap is critical to releasing human potential as well as national progress. But the reality on the ground is unforgiving. One of the widest gender digital divides in Sub-Saharan Africa exists in Uganda. Just 19% of Ugandan women used the internet, compared to 27% of men, according to a 2020 World Wide Web Foundation study. This is not just about numbers it's about deeper structural inequalities.
Ugandan women are handicapped by the high cost of smartphones and mobile data, low digital literacy, and strong socio-cultural values discouraging the use of technology. Globally, the trend is not any different. Of the 2.7 billion people who are not connected to the internet in the world, the majority of them are women and girls, as reported by the International Telecommunication Union. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the mobile internet gender gap is at 37%, with over 190 million women who are not using mobile internet services. All these gaps directly affect the accessibility of women to financial services, education, health, and economic opportunity.
The cost is steep economically. As UN Women's Gender Snapshot 2022 shows, women's disconnection from the digital economy has taken an estimated $1 trillion out of the GDP of low- and middle-income countries in the last ten years a loss set to be $1.5 trillion by 2025 if decisive measures are not taken. In Uganda, this is most evident in the rural and peri-urban areas, where women operate micro and small enterprises, but cannot leverage digital tools to scale. Even though mobile technologies and online markets have the possibility of transforming how women sell, connect, learn, and grow their businesses, equality of access does not exist. Without a cheap phone, digital skills, and confidence in using technology, many women are on the periphery of the digital economy.
In addition, digital exclusion limits women's ability to advocate for their rights, obtain vital services, or take part in civic life. The internet is a gateway to valuable information from market prices and business opportunities to legal advice and social services. If women are not in the digital economy, they are also not at the table in discussions that set policy, form governance, and define community development. Closing the digital divide is a multi-dimensional approach. Initially, there must be deliberate investment in access to affordable digital infrastructure electricity, internet, and smartphones that reaches rural communities.
Second, large-scale digital literacy programs must be put in place, particularly for women and girls who have been left behind. These programs must cover more than basic skills to incorporate online security, digital entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. Third, we must address social norms and gender biases that deter or even prevent women from embracing technology. This includes educating communities on the benefit of women's online engagement and protecting women from cyber violence, surveillance, and online harassment.
Fourth, policy and financing support will be necessary for digital inclusion. Government strategies like Uganda's National Financial Inclusion Strategy and National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture recognize the importance of technology but need to execute the same with gender mainstreaming where the priority is to women. Public-private partnerships can also have a key role to play in upsetting and scaling digital solutions that put women at their core.
Finally, we must define women as digital consumers and digital pioneers’ entrepreneurs, innovators, and creators who have the potential to shape Uganda's digital economy from the grassroots up. In investing in women's access and power on digital platforms, we are not simply filling a gap we are building new horizons of possibility for our citizens and our country. Uganda's future is digital, and it must be inclusive. The cost of inaction is too high. Empowering women with digital skills is not only a moral imperative but an economic one. In order to build a resilient, inclusive, and prosperous Uganda, we must ensure that all women from the village to the city can connect, compete, and thrive in the digital economy.