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Calling women: Why women and technology are a perfect pairing
an article by Henriette Kolb and Olufemi Terry for the Development Channel of the Council of Foreign Relations (reprinted by permission)
Worldwide, fewer women than men use mobile phones.
Addressing this gender disparity could not only
benefit mobile operators, but is also critical to
empowering women and improving health and education. 
A woman uses a mobile phone near kumquat trees in Hanoi, Vietnam, 2014 (Courtesy Reuters/Kham).
click on photo to enlarge
Women with cell phones can access important
development resources such as M-Pesa, a mobile
money transfer solution that was launched in Kenya
in 2007 and has since expanded to other countries.
With support from the Vodafone Foundation, a
Tanzanian hospital recently set up a health care
service that uses M-Pesa to help women receive
treatment for obstetric fistula – a child birth-
related condition that affects one million women
worldwide. The service, called Text to Treatment,
deploys 400 rural “ambassadors” to find women in
need. Following a referral, prospective patients
receive transfers via M-Pesa for transport costs;
and the ambassador also receives a reward. The
program has helped almost 2,000 women get life-
changing fistula operations.
Another program, Knowledge is Power, uses mobile
technology to combat illiteracy in Egypt.
Knowledge is Power has graduated over 94, 000
people, more than half of them women, using a free
downloadable mobile application that enables
learning through images and a talkback function.
According to a recent Vodafone report, scaling up
Knowledge is Power and similar mobile technology-
based learning programs could improve the literacy
of over seven million women worldwide. Literacy
in turn enables women to become better workers,
consumers, and entrepreneurs.
Mobile technology can also help women run their
businesses. For example, the RUDI Sandesha
Vyavhaar (RSV) mobile application allows rural
Indian female retailers to place orders, track
inventory, and manage their operations via sms.
The tool was developed by the Self Employed
Women’s Association, Cherie Blair Foundation for
Women, and Vodafone Foundation in India. Since its
introduction in January 2013, RSV has eliminated
inefficiencies in stock management, increased
women’s sales by as much as 300 percent, and
boosted their incomes.
Closing the gender gap in mobile technology usage
and ownership is a tremendous market opportunity
for mobile operators: getting mobile phones to 90
million more women could contribute $6.6 billion
in earnings and savings in the twenty-seven
countries in which Vodafone operates.
Furthermore, Vodafone’s study projects that the
benefits of improved wellbeing and health from
mobile access would equal an annual $200 million
as a result of higher productivity and cost-
savings by 2020. Boosting literacy through mobile
applications could also add $3.4 billion annually
in additional revenue. In the words of H.E. Sheikh
Abdullah al Thani, chairman of the Ooredoo Group,
“Women should have equal opportunity to use a
mobile phone, and this is not just a social
imperative but a commercial necessity.”
[Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for
this article.]
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
Do women have a special role to play in sustainable development?,
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