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Digital Access, Inequalities & Inclusion

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"Free Internet" and the Costs to Media Pluralism: The Hazards of Zero-Rating the News

Daniel O'Maley, Amba Kak

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2018), 20 pp.

"In many countries, mobile operators have teamed up with social media platforms to offer free access to specific websites or internet services—including news websites. The most well-known of these offerings, Facebook’s Free Basics, has been explicitly pitched as a way to give citizens in develop ... more

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Kenyan Women’s Rural Realities, Mobile Internet Access, and “Africa Rising”

Susan Wyche, Jennifer Olson

Information Technologies & International Development, volume 14, issue Special edition (2018), pp. 33-47

"The term “Africa Rising” is used in popular and academic discourse to describe economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Increased mobile phone ownership and access to the Internet figure prominently in this optimistic narrative. However, aspects of this story are being questioned, in particular w ... more

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Social Media Use Continues to Rise in Developing Countries but Plateaus Across Developed Ones. Digital Divides Remain, Both Within and Across Countries

Jacob Poushter, Caldwell Bishop, Hanyu Chwe

Pew Research Center (2018), 45 pp.

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The State of ICT in In Nigeria 2018

Alison Gillwald, Fola Odufuwa, Mothobi Onkokame Mothobi

Research ICT Africa (2018), 118 pp.

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The State of ICT in In South Africa

Alison Gillwald, Onkokame Mothobi, Broc Rademan

Research ICT Africa (2018), 123 pp.

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Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Include, Upskill, Innovate

Paris: OECD (2018), 150 pp.

"The road ahead is uphill: today worldwide some 327 million fewer women than men have a smartphone and can access the mobile Internet. Women are under-represented in ICT jobs, top management and academic careers and, as shown in this report, men are four times more likely than women to be ICT specia ... lists. At 15 years of age, on average, only 0.5% of girls wish to become ICT professionals, compared to 5% of boys. Women-owned start-ups receive 23% less funding and are 30% less likely to have a positive exit compared to male-owned businesses. This report explores a range of factors that underpin the digital gender divide, bolsters the evidence base for policy making and provides policy directions for consideration by all G20 governments. It has been prepared by the OECD at the request of the Australian Government to support advancement of the 2017 G20 Roadmap for Digitalisation: Policies for a Digital Future, in particular its aim to support the equitable participation of women in the digital economy. It complements the initiative of the 2018 Argentinian G20 Presidency to share policies, actions and national practices that have had a significant and measurable impact in bridging the digital gender divide, while supporting Argentina’s mainstreaming of gender across the G20 agenda. The report finds that hurdles to access, affordability, lack of education as well as inherent biases and sociocultural norms curtail women and girls’ ability to benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital transformation. In addition, girls’ relatively lower educational enrolment in disciplines that would allow them to perform well in a digital world – such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as information and communication technologies – coupled with women’s and girls’ more limited use of digital tools could lead to widening gaps and greater inequality. Acting now to reverse these trends can pay off: the reports finds that greater inclusion of women in the digital economy and increased diversity bring value, both social and economic. For instance, inventions arising out of mixed teams are more economically valuable and have higher impact than those in which only men are involved. Co-ordinated policy action can help narrow the digital gender gap. This requires raising a wareness and tackling gender stereotypes; enabling enhanced, safer and more affordable access to digital tools; and stronger cooperation across stakeholders to remove barriers to girls and women’s full participation in the digital world." (Foreword, page 5) more

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Ascendant India, Digital India: How Net Neutrality Advocates Defeated Facebook’s Free Basics

Revati Prasad

Media, Culture & Society, volume 40, issue 3 (2017), pp. 415-431

"This article analyzes the 2015 campaign by net neutrality advocates against Facebook’s Free Basics service in India, and argues that their victory can be best understood by analyzing their privileged place in an India that imagines itself high tech and global. The advocates, predominantly tech wo ... more

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Reaping Digital Dividends: Leveraging the Internet for Development in Europe and Central Asia

Tim Kelly, Aleksandra Liaplina, Shawn W. Tan, Hernan Winkler

Washington, DC: World Bank (2017), xxii, 229 pp.

"Unfortunately, the Internet has fallen short of its promises in some other aspects, as its benefits have not fully reached people in the bottom of the income distribution. For example, skilled workers are better able to leverage the Internet to increase their earnings, whereas unskilled workers fac ... more

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Beyond Access: Addressing Digital Inequality in Africa

Alison Gillwald

Waterloo, Ontario: Centre for International Governance Innovation (2017), 17 pp.

"Although most Africans remain disconnected from the Internet, and access to broadband services continues to be a central policy issue, the increased availability of broadband services alone will not reduce digital inequality on the continent. While the provision of access to the Internet remains a ... more

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Free Basics in Real Life: Six Case Studies on Facebook’s Internet “on Ramp” Initiative from Africa, Asia and Latin America

Amsterdam: Global Voices (2017), 35 pp.

According to the executive summary "Facebook’s Free Basics program aims to help bridge the digital divide through a mobile-based platform that allows users to connect to a handful of online services free of charge [...] This paper highlights the following findings: Language: Free Basics does not m ... more

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Digital Development and the Digital Gender Gap

Siân Herbert

Brighton: Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (2017), 11 pp.

"This rapid literature review collates findings from recently published papers on digital development and gender, highlighting some of the most commonly discussed discussions related to economic, social and political development. As the scope of this query is very large, this review provides an illu ... more

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Compromising Connectivity: Information Dynamics Between the State and Society in a Digitizing North Korea

Nat Kretchun, Catherine Lee, Seamus Tuohy

Washington, DC: Intermedia (2017), 97 pp.

"The information and media environment in North Korea continues to evolve quickly. This report demonstrates that the depth and diversity of information and media access channels have grown markedly since the release of A Quiet Opening in 2012. More North Koreans have greater access to a larger varie ... more

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Bridging the Digital Divide in Nigeria: A Case Study of ICT Access and Usage in Lagos Metropolis

Oluwakemi Matilda Akinleye

Leicester: Master of Arts Thesis Department of Media and Communication University of Leicester (2017), 65 pp.

"This research assesses the access and usage of ICT (mobile and smart phones, personal computer, tablets and ipads) and internet by residents of Lagos in Nigeria, with emphasis on the availability and use of ICT for socioeconomic and political growth. ICT access and usage is indispensable in today's ... more

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Conceptual Evolution of the Digital Divide: A Systematic Review of the Literature Over a Period of Five Years (2010 – 2015)

Bhanu Bhakta Acharya

World of Media: Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies (2017), pp. 41-74

"Throughout the last twenty years the digital divide – a multidimensional concept – has evolved in a manner that takes account of various technological, socio-economic, socio-political, and socio-cultural considerations. The objective of this study is to access recent conceptualizations of the t ... more

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Women's Pathways to the Digital Sector: Stories of Opportunities and Challenges

Panoply Digital

Bonn: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) (2017), 51 pp.

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The Third Digital Divide: A Weberian Approach to Digital Inequalities

Massimo Ragnedda

London; New York: Routledge (2017), vi, 128 pp.

"Drawing on the thought of Max Weber, in particular his theory of stratification, this book engages with the question of whether the digital divide simply extends traditional forms of inequality, or whether it also includes new forms of social exclusion, or perhaps manifests counter-trends that alle ... more

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Internet Use Barriers and User Strategies: Perspectives from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Rwanda

Margaret Nyambura, Fola Odufuwa, Albert Nsengiyumva, Lwando Mdleleni, Mpho Moyo, Sinethemba Mthimkhulu

Research ICT Africa; Mozilla Foundation (2017), 40 pp.

"The study tested the following hypotheses: the use of subsidised services only forms part of data use; people do not move beyond the use of subsidised services; using the internet first through subsidised services leaves people with less of an understanding of the Internet. Using subsidised data fo ... more

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Connecting the Next Four Billion: Strengthening the Global Response for Universal Internet Access

Steve Schmida, James Bernard, Tess Zakaras et al.

Washington: SSG Advisors (2017), 32 pp.

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Medienbildung und Teilhabegerechtigkeit: Impulse der Publizistischen Kommission der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz zu den Herausforderungen der Digitalisierung

Bonn: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (2016), 30 pp.

"Eine umfassende Medienbildung ermöglicht es, die Prinzipien der katholischen Soziallehre auch in Bezug auf digitale Medien wahrzunehmen. Einzelne wie gesellschaftliche Gruppen können so zu einem souveränen Umgang mit Phänomenen der Digitalisierung wie mit digitalen Medien befähigt werden. Medi ... more

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Mobilities, ICTs and Marginality in Africa: Comparative Perspectives

Francis Nyamnjoh, Ingrid Brudvig (eds.)

Cape Town: HSRC Press (2016), ix, 244 pp.

"The book aims to situate the cultural, social and, in some cases, transnational context of ICT appropriation and virtual connectivity so as to reposition Africans from various countries and contexts as active agents of social change. The intricacies of local ICT use and the dynamics of mobility in ... more