A recent research by ‘The charitable foundation’ (founded up by the wife of the UK’s former Prime Minister, Tony Blair) has concluded that woman in a low or middle-income country is 21% less likely to own a mobile phone than a man.
Research shows that, by extending the benefits of mobile phone ownership to more women, a host of social and economic goals can be advanced.
Report says that if operators bring mobile phone penetration among women on a par with penetration among men, this report shows they would collectively earn US$13 billion in additional revenues each year.
Key findings show that:
- There are 300 million fewer female subscribers than male subscribers worldwide
- A woman is 21% less likely to own a phone than a man in low and middle-income countries – 23% in Africa, 24% in the Middle East, and 37% in South Asia
- Regionally, the incremental annual revenue opportunity for operators ranges from US$740M in Latin America to US$4B in East Asia
- Going forward, two thirds of potential new subscribers for mobile network operators will be women
- Women in rural areas and lower income brackets stand to benefit the most from closing the gender gap
- 93% of women report feeling safer because of their mobile phone
- 85% of women report feeling more independent because of their mobile phone
- 41% of women report having increased income and professional opportunities once they own a phone