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New project aims to bridge mobile phone gender gap

11 Oct 2010

A new study claims that 300 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone in developing countries. The research, released on Thursday, 7 Otober 2010, by the international mobile phone body GSM Association, found that a woman in sub-Saharan Africa is 23 percent less likely than a man to own a mobile.

The figure increases to 24 percent in the Middle East and 37 percent in South Asia, according to the study. A new project called mWomen, run by the GSM Association, aims to halve this gender gap within three years by ensuring access to mobile phone technology to 150 million women around the world.

The GSMA study claims that more than 50 percent of all female business owners in poor countries reported earning more money because of their mobile phone.

Source: Panos London

Panos London promotes the participation of poor and marginalised people in national and international development debates through media and communication projects. It is part of the worldwide Panos Network of independent institutes working to ensure that information is used more effectively to foster debate, pluralism and democracy.

Go to: http://www.panos.org.uk