Women in India are hit the hardest by inequalities based on caste, gender, and income (especially between rural and urban India), the latest Oxfam India report has found.
While about 61 percent of men were using mobile phones in 2021, only 31 percent of women were reported to own cell phones that year.
Citing data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the report says that the reach of digital technologies in India remains primarily limited to male, urban, upper-caste, and upper-class individuals.
Meanwhile, eight percent of the general caste have access to a computer or laptop, while less than one percent of the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and two percent of the Scheduled Castes (SC) can afford such devices.
Only three percent of the rural population owned a computer before the COVID-19 outbreak. This number slipped to just one percent post-COVID — which stands in contrast to the popular belief that the use of digital technology increased during the pandemic.
The report also notes that most teachers in rural areas faced difficulty trying to arrange access for students to digital education during the pandemic.
“India’s growing inequality is accentuated due to the digital divide,” Oxfam India Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Behar said, adding that “people without devices and [access to] the internet get further marginalized due to difficulties in accessing education, health, and public services.”