Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity - ProPakistaniCase Study: Mobilink and UNESCO use SMS to...
Transcript of Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity - ProPakistaniCase Study: Mobilink and UNESCO use SMS to...
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
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Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
1© GSM Association
Executive Summary 06
Introduction 11A Critical First Step Mobile Phones and the Gender Gap 11Women and Mobile Phones: A Winning Combination for Development 11Defining the Gender Gap 12A Brief Note About Methodology 13
Closing the Mobile Phone Gender Gap 15Gender Gap Hotspots: South Asia, the Middle East and Africa 16Tomorrow’s Subscribers Will Largely Be Women 18Case Study: Mobilink and UNESCO use SMS to Improve Female Literacy in Pakistan 19Case Study: Roshan Finds that Culturally Sensitive Marketing Builds a Connection of Trust 20
Women Benefit from Mobile Phone Ownership 21I Feel Safer Because I Own a Mobile Phone 21I Feel More Connected Because I Own a Mobile Phone 22I Feel More Independent Because I Own a Mobile Phone 22Mobile Phones Unlock Economic Opportunities 22Mobile Phones Enable Women’s Voices to be Heard 23Case Study: Project Zumbido uses Mobile Phones to Create Virtual Communities in Mexico 24Case Study: Rural Women in Kosovo ‘Mobile-ise’ for a Say in Their Constitution 25
Mobile Phone Ownership and Usage 26Five Key Traits Predict Mobile Phone Ownership 26Women Who Borrow or Do Not Use Mobile Phones 28Barriers to Mobile Phone Ownership 31Case Study: Tostan and UNICEF build Literacy and Leaders with SMS-Based Community Forum 32
Women’s Mobile Phone Ownership 33Five Demographic Groups of Particular Interest 33Case Study: Banglalink Speaks to Women’s Aspirations 35Women at the Base of the Pyramid (BOP): The Final Frontier 36Case Study: WOUGNET Amplifies Traditional Communications with Mobile Phones in Uganda 37Rural Women at Work: Demand Restrained by Income 38Case Study: The Women of SEWA Profit from Investments in Information 39Women in the Home: The Largest and Most Diverse Group 40Case Study: MTN Develops Solutions that Address the Global Diversity of Homemakers 41Women at School: Heavy SMS Users and a Willingness to Spend 42Case Study: Malaysian Operator Maxis Makes the Mobile a Lifestyle device 43Career Women: Using Mobile Phones to Create Opportunities 44
A Geographic Perspective on Women and Mobile Phones 45Recommendations and Next Steps 47Appendix A: Key Terms and Concepts 50Appendix B: Methodology 51Figures 53Endnotes 54
Table Of Contents
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
2 © GSM Association2
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
4 © GSM Association
Acknowledgements
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
5© GSM Association
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
6 © GSM Association
Executive Summary
300 Million Fewer Female than Male Subscribers: A US$13 Billion Opportunity
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“From connecting communities and transforming communications, to enhancing well-being and opening up trade, the mobile phone is revolutionising business practices in Jordan, especially for those in rural areas. But its potential around the world is yet untapped. This comprehensive report is a crucial first step for budding business women in developing countries; it proves how important it is to bring women into the conversation and close the gender gap in accessing mobile phone technology. This issue has been on hold for too long! I look forward to the day when women everywhere benefit from this powerful development tool.”
Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
7© GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
8 © GSM Association
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“Orascom Telecom has deep roots in the developing countries in which it operates and realises that in order to have a systematic understanding of how mobile technology can empower women, you need to look at both individual and societal characteristics. Both levels of analysis can identify either barriers or enablers of adopting mobile technology.”
Naguib Sawiris, Executive Chairman,
Orascom Telecom Holding
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Handset costs too much Monthly service cost too expensive No need - everyone is local No need - use a landline phoneLack family/spouse permission Fear of the technology All other reasons (eight total)
What are the top reasons why you do not own a mobile phone (respondents that do not benefit from mobile phone ownership)
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
9© GSM Association
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“In less than a decade mobile phones in Pakistan have gone from being a toy for the rich to a tool for the successful.”
Bilal Sheikh, CMO for Mobilink, Pakistan
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12 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
(1) Within a specific geography own a mobile phone, it can be said that women are 25% less likely than men to own a mobile phone. The gender gap is thus 25%.
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
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Figure 2: Number of Women and Men that Benefit from Mobile Phone Ownership in Low and Middle-Income Countries
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300 millionWomen
2.9 billion Males
1.1 billionsubscribers
1.4 billionsubscribers
Gender GapThere are 300 million
fewer female subscribers than male subscribers in low and
middle-income countries
Total number of females and males in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
16 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
17© GSM Association
Figure 3: Gender Gap: Size and Immediate Revenue Opportunity (ARPU) by Region
TOTALS TOTALS
Gender Gap: 21%, 300 million womenGender Gap: 21%, 300 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: US$13 billionMkt. Opportunity: US$13 billion
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
1.4 billion males 1.1 billion females
2009 population2009 population
2.9 billion males 2.9 billion females
Western Europe (for comparison purposes)Western Europe (for
comparison purposes)
Gender Gap: 0% (estimate)Gender Gap: 0% (estimate)
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
156 million males 162 million females
2009 population2009 population
200 million males 208 million females
E. Europe & Central Asia E. Europe & Central Asia
Gender Gap: 16%, 27 million womenGender Gap: 16%, 27 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: US$1.6 billionMkt. Opportunity: US$1.6 billion
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
150 million males 138 million females
2009 population2009 population
213 million males 233 million females
East Asia & Pacific East Asia & Pacific
Gender Gap: 17%, 83 million womenGender Gap: 17%, 83 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: $US4 billionMkt. Opportunity: $US4 billion
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
498 million males 393 million females
2009 population2009 population
1 billion males 956 million females
Middle East & N Africa Middle East & N Africa
Gender Gap: 24%, 25 million womenGender Gap: 24%, 25 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: US$1.5 billionMkt. Opportunity: US$1.5 billion
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
102 million males 76 million females
2009 population2009 population
168 million males 165 million females
Latin America & Caribbean Latin America & Caribbean
Gender Gap: 1%, 9 million womenGender Gap: 1%, 9 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: US$739 millionMkt. Opportunity: US$739 million
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
165 million males 168 million females
2009 population2009 population
284 million males 291 million females
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
Gender Gap: 23%, 33 million womenGender Gap: 23%, 33 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: US$1.9 billionMkt. Opportunity: US$1.9 billion
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
145 million males 112 million females
2009 population2009 population
419 million males 422 million females
South Asia South Asia
Gender Gap: 37%,124 million womenGender Gap: 37%,124 million women
Mkt. Opportunity: US$3.6 billionMkt. Opportunity: US$3.6 billion
2009 subscribers:2009 subscribers:
352 million males 208 million females
2009 population2009 population
833 million males 786 million females
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
18 © GSM Association
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US$0
US$3
US$7
US$10
US$13
Regional Incremental Revenue Opportunity TOTAL
US$13.0
US$1.6
US$0.7
US$3.6
US$1.9
US$4.0
US$1.5
Billio
ns
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
19© GSM Association
PakistanMobiles Boost Female Literacy
Mobilink, SMS for Literacy
Mobilink and UNESCO teamed up to use SMS messages to improve young women’s literacy
Demonstrating the positive impact of mobile phones on girls’ lives can help overcome community resistance to female ownership
Pakistani mobile operator Mobilink, a subsidiary of Orascom, has learned a great deal about attitudes regarding women and mobile phones, especially as penetration rates soared in Pakistan over the last several years. In addition to creating a product tailored specifically for the women’s market several years ago, Mobilink has sought to demonstrate the power of mobile phones to improve literacy rates for adolescent girls in rural areas of Pakistan where reading materials are often scarce. Yet there is often resistance to girls’ having the independence that mobile phones symbolise.
For four months in 2009, Mobilink partnered with UNESCO and a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), Bunyad, on a pilot project in a rural area of southern Punjab province involving 250 females aged 15-24 who had recently completed a basic literacy programme. Each of the girls was provided with a low-cost mobile phone and prepaid connection. Teachers were trained by Bunyad to teach students how to read and write using mobile phones. The company set up a system for the NGO to send out SMS messages in an effort to maintain and improve participants’ literacy, which often lapses because of inadequate access to interesting reading material. Crucially, the low-cost phones were enabled to send and receive messages in Urdu, the local language, rather than in English. The girls received up to six messages a day on a variety of topics including religion, health and nutrition, and were expected to practise reading and writing down the messages and responding to their teachers via SMS. Monthly assessments of participants learning gains were conducted to assess impact.
Programme organisers encountered considerable resistance on the part of parents and community leaders to the idea of allowing girls to have mobile phones, largely due to the conservative social norms of the area. This resistance began to soften, however, once people began to see the nature of the messages the girls were receiving and the benefits the programme conferred. Exams taken by the girls participating in the programme showed striking early gains in literacy, with the share of girls receiving the lowest scores dropping nearly 80%. Participants and their families are even taking advantage of other features of the phones, including the calculator. While 56% of learners and their families initially maintained negative feelings toward the programme, 87% were satisfied with its results by the end. Families also appreciated the greater sense of security that being able to contact their daughters or wives provided. Users can pay US$6 to buy their phones at the end of the programme and continue receiving text messages, and Mobilink, UNESCO and Bunyad plan to expand the programme further.
The success of this programme demonstrates how mobile phones can be used to increase the reach and effectiveness of basic education programmes. It also illustrates the fact that suspicion of mobile phones can be overcome by showing parents and leaders how mobiles can be used to transmit culturally sensitive information whilst increasing girls’ sense of security.
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
20 © GSM Association
AfghanistanSpeaking to Women with Words that Resonate
Roshan, Aali for Mother
Afghan mobile operator Roshan launches a series of culturally-appropriate promotions for women that emphasise family and security
Culturally sensitive marketing builds a connection of trust
Roshan, which means “light” in Dari and Pashto, is Afghanistan’s largest mobile network operator. With the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development as a majority shareholder, the company matches its financial objectives with a strong commitment to the development of the country. Boosting mobile phone use among women is not only seen as a revenue opportunity, as no other operator in Afghanistan was targeting the women’s market, but also provides an opportunity to benefit one of the country’s most marginalised segments.
Prevailing cultural attitudes in Afghanistan impose very traditional roles on men and women. Society is family-oriented, with men controlling most of the family’s assets and spending decisions; women occupy the traditional role of sister, wife and mother. Company research indicated that for men, the primary reason for a woman to have a mobile phone would be to provide a connection between herself and her family, or in some cases, her workplace. Use outside this circle is often viewed with suspicion.
Working within these cultural expectations, Roshan launched the Aali for Mother Campaign in April 2009. The promotion was based on SIM Aali, their flagship mass market tariff plan, but offered a Family and Friends option at reduced rates with a focus on women while accenting the themes of motherhood and family.
Marketing messages were targeted at both men and women, and as shown in the advert emphasised the mobile phone’s role in enabling women to attend to family responsibilities. Advertisements showed depictions of women in traditional gender roles, like singing a lullaby to her child, and positioned men as the “gift bearer.”
Since the launch, the percentage of women among new Roshan subscribers has continued to grow to approximately 18% today. It is estimated that Roshan has the highest number of female subscribers in Afghanistan. The campaign has also further established Roshan as a trusted brand. Through its commercial and corporate social responsibility efforts, the company continues to promote the economic empowerment of women in Afghan society through a variety of initiatives including the Women’s Public Calls Offices project. Roshan has stayed within cultural boundaries even while expressing and showing themes of modernity and progress. And with the success of Aali for Mother, Roshan is looking at providing more products and promotions tailored to women, built around the Family and Friends offering.
!
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
21© GSM Association
Women Benefit from Mobile Phone Ownership
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Figure 5: Positive Outcomes and Feelings Associated with Mobile Phone Ownership!
!
% of respondents (mobile phone owners) that answered the below statements positively Figure 5: Positive Outcomes and Feelings Associated with Mobile Phone Ownership% of respondents (mobile phone owners) that answered the below statements positively
41%
85%93%93%
I feel safer I feel more connected with friends and family
I feel more independent
I have increased my income or professional opportunities
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Putting Minds at Ease Wins Hearts TooIdea Cellular, India
Staying on top of the market in India’s ultra-competitive mobile phone scene requires keeping an eye on its fastest-growing demographic groups. Idea Cellular, one of India’s five biggest mobile operators with over 50 million subscribers, has pursued a bigger slice of women’s growing share of India’s subscriber base by learning what women in different age groups, professions and regions need in a communications device. Several years ago, Idea unveiled a Women’s Card that included several innovative features designed to address what a research study and anecdotal information indicated was women’s top concern when it came to mobiles: concern about not being able to reach family members if they ran out of airtime. To meet that need, Idea created a feature that allowed women to dial a three-digit code to have a “Please call immediately” SMS sent to three designated people who could then call the sender, and another that allows “negative balance” calls by women who have run out of balance. Use of the SMS alert was extensive, and both female and male subscribers appreciated the sense of security provided by the feature.
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
22 © GSM Association
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Entel S.A., Bolivia
Kenya Farmers Helpline or “Huduma Kwa Wakulima”Kencall, Kenya
For a twenty-five cent call on their mobile phone, farmers in Kenya can save several dollars by getting practical advice on their farming and livestock strategies. For instance, farmers have called to ask why their chickens are attacking each other and were informed that they were overcrowded. This type of concrete advice provides an enormous return for the farmer. Around 43% of the calls to Kencall’s Kenya Farmers Helpline or “Huduma Kwa Wakulima” are from women farmers, who rarely, if ever, receive expert assistance from extension workers or other agricultural professionals. Kencall’s CEO, Nicholas Nesbitt, calls this “just-in-time information” and reports that farmers are “investing in making these calls because they believe they will see a concrete return.”
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“I always carry my mobile phone when I go out because I can call my mother in case I am late. I call my neighbor’s mobile phone and ask her if she can walk over to our house and find my mom so that I can talk to her.”
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
23© GSM Association
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Figure 6: I have Earned Additional Income with My Mobile Phone (all respondents)
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My Project ZainZain, Saudi Arabia
Through My Project Zain, mobile operator Zain has given women in Saudi Arabia the opportunity to open and successfully manage businesses in the mobile phone industry. For Dr. Aziza H. Al Ahmadi, the originator of this initiative, it was essential to provide women with both the raw materials to launch the business as well as management, business and know-how training and ongoing advice to ensure its continued success. Entrepreneurs such as Gada in Jeddah have thrived in this programme. Gada was able to secure promotional deals with major retail outlets and soon plans to hire three or four additional women to join her team. Gada notes that “before this project, I felt I had some financial problems, but today I work a lot on this project because it has changed my life and increased my family income.“ Thus far, Zain has helped launch 38 women-owned businesses in Saudi Arabia and it plans to increase that number this year.
“An example from one of Orascom Telecom’s operations demonstrates how mobile technology is used as a tool of social and economic empowerment. In Pakistan, we have implemented the Lady Health Worker (LHW) project in which we provided females in rural areas with a low-cost mobile phone bundled with a pre-paid SIM to help reduce infant mortality rates. LHWs can now communicate with their supervisors, basic and district health units, hospitals and ambulances. This example and the ability of the mobile phone to provide an additional source of income have resulted in the acceptance of mobile phones.”
Naguib Sawiris, Executive Chairman, Orascom Telecom Holding
(all respondents)
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Business Owners Non-business Owners
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
24 © GSM Association
MexicoMobile Phones Reduce the Distance for People in Need
SHM, Zumbido
Project Zumbido, an mHealth project for HIV/AIDS patients in Mexico, leveraged the anonymity provided by mobile phones to build virtual support groups for those struggling with the social isolation of their disease.
Mobile phones create virtual communities for HIV+ patients
Social isolation can intensify the impacts of any serious medical condition, leading to anxiety, depression or even a failure to follow prescribed medical treatments. Support groups that promote social relationships among patients help counter these negative impacts. Forming and maintaining these groups can be costly and logistically difficult, especially in rural areas and for women that juggle childcare, housework and jobs.
When studying this situation among HIV/AIDS patients in Mexico, SHM, a UK-based consultancy, realised the mobile phone could address these issues. In initial focus groups, SHM found that women tended to suffer more than men from stigma and discrimination associated with their condition and were more reluctant to share their personal stories in face-to-face group settings. The mobile phone was the perfect tool to address these concerns as it provided both an instant and private form of communication and greater accessibility than other media.
To test their assumptions, SHM developed Project Zumbido (“buzz” in Spanish) in 2007 as a three-month pilot in the Mexican state of Jalisco. An initial group of 40 participants was divided into four smaller groups, each with a mix of men and women from urban and rural locations. SHM provided the groups with mobile phones, unlimited text messages and group messaging software that allowed participants to send their individual messages to every member of their pre-defined group.
Even though many of the participants – particularly the women – hadn’t used SMS or even a mobile phone before, they quickly grasped the technology. The pilot was particularly empowering for women. One woman from a rural area had felt extremely isolated. She had three children and few friends, and she was from a very conservative town where she had never been able to attend school. Membership in the group was so important to her that she used an alphabet poster and help from her friends to learn how to write and send text messages. Her group encouraged her both to continue to learn to use the phone and to improve her writing skills. By the end of the project, she had sent an average of 15 text messages per day, more than any other participant.
By the end of the three-month pilot, group members had sent an average of 80,000 text messages per month. SHM clearly proved their concept, as programme participants reported greatly improved emotional states and better compliance with their drug regimens. Many of the women are still using the phones to arrange personal meetings with former group members. The continued use of SMS-based support groups will hinge on them being less costly than physical support groups. However Project Zumbido demonstrates that mobile phones can empower women by reducing the distances between people in need of community. Said one woman, “My group gave me courage to make some decisions in my life.”
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
25© GSM Association
KosovoRural Women ‘Mobile-ise’ for a Say in Their Constitution
Women for Women International
Using mobile phones to give women a voice in Kosovo’s new constitution.
Women connected by mobile phones make their voices heard
In the heady days after Kosovo declared its independence in February 2008, the fledgling state’s leaders began establishing the foundations of a new governing order. Among the many voices clamoring to make their opinion heard, those of rural and marginalised women were perhaps the most frequently underrepresented in the halls of power. So when Women for Women International country director Hamide Latifi saw that a public forum for input into a new constitution included few women, she leapt into action.
Latifi spent days arguing with the constiutional commission that women’s interests, and especially those of rural women, needed to be represented. The commission finally relented but gave organisers less than 48 hours to mobilise women in rural areas and transport them to Drenas, where the forum was being held and the consitution drafted. In such a short period, the only method of communication that could accomplish such a task was the mobile phone. Women for Women staff began contacting graduates of their programs on their mobile phones and encouraging them to phone other women in their area. Organisers succeeded in gathering 250 women from around the country to participate in the forum.
The results were dramatic. A number of the women spoke to the group about the need to consider women’s issues in drafting the constitution. One of them, Habibe Gerxhaliu, a mother of four whose husband was killed during the war, raised important points about the necessity of having the new Constitution address gender equality and make special provisions for the many women widowed as a result of the war. The constitution approved in April 2008 includes Article 7, which enshrines this equality and guarantees women’s participation in all aspects of public life.
Women for Women organisers attribute the success of this effort in part to the role played by mobile phones. Majlinda Mazelliu, deputy director of Women for Women International in Kosovo said “Thanks to the power of the mobile phone, we managed to mobilise 250 women within 48 hours. This was critical, because if we had to go door-to-door, we could have reached maybe only half that number within the time we had.”
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
26 © GSM Association
Mobile Phone Ownership and Usage
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28 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
30 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
31© GSM Association
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Figure 14: What Are the Top Reasons Why You Do Not Own a Mobile Phone(respondents that do not benefit from mobile phone ownership)
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Figure 15: Percent of Women who Own Mobile Phones vs. ARPU as % of Household Expenditure
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
32 © GSM Association
SenegalBuilding Literacy, Building Leaders
Tostan/UNICEF, Jokko Initiative
Tostan and UNICEF launch the Jokko Initiative, which uses SMS technology to reinforce women’s literacy skills and build their confidence as social change agents
Creating demand for mobile phones by demonstrating their benefits
Family and community are at the centre of life in rural Senegal. In the past, limited literacy and inadequate technology have made it difficult for women to be leaders in civic life, but the NGO Tostan and UNICEF have teamed up for a project in Senegal that is tackling these challenges and allowing women to be a force for social change in their communities.
The Jokko Initiative (Jokko means “communication” in Wolof, one of Senegal’s national languages) is a two-year pilot programme that trains participants of Tostan’s non-formal education program on using mobile phones. Part of Jokko is a community forum tied to Tostan’s literacy and maths programme. One of its unique features is users’ ability to send an SMS message to a central server, where it is then sent out to an entire community of other users.
Community members can send out messages on a range of topics of interest to the community, including vital events like births or deaths, service announcements and even poems. Many of the messages pertain to local events organised by women in the groups, and some deal with income-generating activities, allowing women to promote their goods to other participants. The program reinforces the literacy skills of women who often have little access to written material and whose reading and writing skills might otherwise lapse. But it also allows women, who comprise 80% of Tostan’s participants, to organise themselves to effect change, by allowing the diffusion of ideas widely and cheaply. Organisers hope that this tool will connect women and girls across broader communities to create advocacy and support networks for decisions pertaining to girls’ health and well-being, such as promoting girls’ education, delaying marriage and abandoning female genital cutting.
One of the most powerful lessons from this project has been the use of local references to teach people how to use the phone. In community sessions, trainers used the visual of a mango tree to help users understand the idea of a phone menu and the transmission of their messages to members of the wider community.
Tostan and UNICEF hope to have over 200 villages using the platform in a year. Despite being in its early stages, positive results are already evident. Guillaume Debar of Tostan says that women, especially older women, are proud of their ability to use the phones and serve as an example to their daughters and granddaughters. Women who may not otherwise have been aware of the various benefits of using mobile phones now want to use them, which illustrates the fact that demand for mobile phones can be created through demonstrations of their many benefits to a community.
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
33© GSM Association
Women’s Mobile Phone Ownership
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‘Understanding women’s usage patterns is essential before you can look at strategies to increase the uptake.”
Claire Thwaites, mobile communications policy expert
Figure 16: Overview of Pertinent Demographic Groups
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
34 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
35© GSM Association
BangladeshSpeaking to Women’s Hopes and Needs
Banglalink, Ladies First
To motivate adoption of mobile telephony and build a foundation of trust, Banglalink launched Ladies First, a product that offered a comprehensive package of services to three distinct segments of women consumers and was promoted with a culturally-sensitive marketing communications plan.
Culturally sensitive marketing builds a connection of trust
Banglalink launched in 2005 with a mission to make mobile telephony more accessible and affordable for the masses. But Bangladesh is a fiercely competitive market with wide cultural differences between urban and rural areas, men and women, and even among women from differing socio-economic conditions.
To differentiate themselves in this competitive environment, the company developed a broad segmentation strategy that included a focus on women, a previously underserved segment. In a market abundant with male-oriented marketing strategies. Banglalink believed that promotions for women would help them stand out from their competition.
The company conducted extensive market research and identified three distinct consumer segments among Bangladeshi women – college students, working women and housewives – each with their own communication needs and lifestyle choices. The research also helped guide the company’s marketing messages by revealing that women responded favorably to seeing portrayals of themselves in aspirational, rather than stereotypical, roles.
The company launched its pioneering Ladies First product in late 2005, offering pre-paid connection with special call rates as well as customised value-added services, such as store discounts and information services (e.g., cooking and first aid tips) accessible via short message codes, relevant for each segment’s lifestyle needs. Marketing campaigns for each segment showed positive and empowered depictions of women. Banglalink kept the Ladies First brand visible through ongoing sponsorship of women-oriented events like International Women’s Day.
Banglalink customers have shown tremendous support for the Ladies First promotion. Based on this success, Banglalink continues to prominently feature positive depictions of women in their marketing communications, and the Ladies First service has also been “exported” to Mobilink, Banglalink’s sister company in Pakistan. Promotions aimed at other segments of their diverse population have taught the same lesson: all successful promotions begin by understanding the cultural differences and communication needs of the target audience.
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
36 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
37© GSM Association
UgandaMobile Phones Amplify Traditional Communications in Rural Uganda
WOUGNET
The Women of Uganda Network introduces mobile phones to supplement traditional methods of communicating information to women about agriculture.
Combining mobile phones with traditional information channels boosts the effectiveness of both
In the northern areas of Uganda, agriculture remains the primary activity of nearly all inhabitants, and women have long been the backbone of the agricultural sector. But long delays in transmitting needed information about agricultural and market conditions have often held back the economic potential of the region and limited women’s ability to provide for themselves and their families.
The Women of Uganda Network was formed in 2000 by several women’s groups in the country with the goal of leveraging the power of information and communications technology (ICT) to disseminate information more quickly and accurately. In 2005, WOUGNET began working with twelve rural women farmers’ groups in the Apac district on an initiative that uses mobile phones to extend the reach and effectiveness of more traditional information channels. Each of twelve groups in the district was equipped with a mobile phone and a radio cassette player, which would allow women to participate in a popular local agricultural radio show, communicate with agricultural extension workers and share information with each other. The initiative is supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP EU (CTA) and Hivos.
The use of SMS messaging was a critical part of the programme. While the women’s groups were provided with free airtime for the first six months, they were responsible for covering airtime costs after this period. Voice calling rates remain high in Uganda, so WOUGNET trained the women on how to use lower-cost SMS to ask questions of local agricultural organisations and extension workers. Information on farming techniques and practices is also sent out in SMS form to the groups in Luo, the local language, and is then further disseminated by word of mouth, which helps overcome the barrier posed by illiteracy. Also essential to the programme’s success was the stipulation that phones remain in the custody of a designated woman in each of the groups, which prevents their unauthorised use and promotes ownership of ICTs by women.
Since the beginning of the programme, the groups have grown and prospered. One of them, formed in 2006, has increased its goat herd from six to 40 and branched out into honey production and sunflower cultivation. The groups have also been able to earn income by charging members and non-members for unrelated phone calls and battery charging. The men in these areas have been generally supportive due to the extra income the programme provides.
Dorothy Okello, WOUGNET’s Coordinator, thinks that the initiative has worked because the mobile phones were used to complement communication channels, such as radio shows and extension workers, with which the women already felt comfortable. She said: “The mobile phones we introduced had to complement, not replace, other modes of communication. People were already used to the radio because it was the primary way of getting information when mobile phones were used mostly by men or thought of as devices for socialising.”
But women have continued to pay for airtime even after the end of the subsidy because of the value demonstrated in transmitting information. The project demonstrates that finding a way to marry mobile technology to existing practices can reap a bumper crop of benefits.
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
38 © GSM Association
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Figure 20: Because of My Mobile Phone, I Have...(all respondents and those in the Rural Women at Work segment that own a mobile phone)(all respondents and those in the Rural Women at Work segment that own a mobile phone)
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
39© GSM Association
IndiaRaising the Incomes of Agricultural Workers by Raising Awareness
SEWA
The Self Employed Women’s Association of India discovers that women will invest in the information that mobile phones can deliver if it raises their incomes and improves their lives
Profiting from investments in information
In the information age, knowledge equals power and, increasingly, profit. While money is often scarce for the millions of Indian women who make their living in the informal sector, a leading women’s organisation is learning that women will invest in information provided through mobile phones if it improves their livelihoods.
The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a trade union comprised of more than 1.1 million women members in India (about 600,000 in Gujarat state) who work in the informal sector. One of SEWA’s objectives is to achieve “livelihood security” for its members, which it defines as having work, income, food and social security. Enhancing women’s bargaining position is one of the mechanisms it employs to achieve these goals. The mobile phone is an excellent tool for achieving these objectives, and a survey in Gujarat state revealed that nearly one-third (about 177,000) of SEWA members owned mobile phones.
The agricultural sector provides a powerful demonstration of how information delivered using mobiles can increase women’s incomes. Each day, SEWA sends agricultural workers SMS messages with up-to-date spot and future commodity prices for each market so they can determine when and where to get the best price for their produce. This also enhances the women’s ability to do both crop planning and make informed harvesting decisions. For women that do not have a mobile phone, a SEWA member posts the prices on a PC-based “notice board” in the village. Women have not only been able to increase their incomes, but they have also saved money by not having to travel in order to get the latest market prices. Similarly, workers on the salt pans use mobiles to get the latest market information and decide their selling strategy on this basis.
SEWA is also pilot-testing a cell phone-based management system, which uses an interactive voice response (IVR) system rather than SMS, since not all of its members are language or technology-literate. In addition to commodity prices, this system also provides members with information on SEWA-administered microloans. The results of the pilot test are impressive, with 20,000 women having used this system. “We were surprised at how much poor, rural women were hungry for communication and information,” said Reema Nanavaty, Director, Economic & Rural Development of SEWA.
Even with the extremely competitive mobile phone rates in India, a phone call or SMS message is a significant investment for SEWA members. These women are making the investment because they recognise that their livelihoods, and the lives of their families, will improve as a result of the information they obtain from their mobile phone. These women’s experiences demonstrate that opening the door to increased income will open the door to increased mobile phone adoption and usage.
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
40 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
41© GSM Association
Africa, Middle East and Central AsiaThinking Globally and Acting Locally
MTN, Her&Home
Multi-national operator MTN Group developed a global segmentation framework that could be customised to each of its markets in order to address its diverse customer base. The company’s regional subsidiaries then used this framework to roll out locally-tailored promotional programmes for women identified as belonging to the Her & Home segment.
Developing solutions that address the diversity of women’s communications needs drives revenue and subscriber growth
MTN Group provides mobile phone services to more than 108 million subscribers in Africa and the Middle East through a network of subsidiaries in 21 countries. With such a varied marketplace, the company recognised the need for a global segmentation framework that would provide a better understanding of its customer base and could be applied across all the areas they serve.
Through a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, the company developed a framework identifying six unique segments common across all of its markets. The research identified stay-at-home women as an underserved market and one with high potential for new subscriptions and increased usage.
The global segmentation model also included key value propositions and guidelines for each of the six segments as they relate to key business issues such as pricing, products, sales and distribution, communications and more. It is up to each of the regional subsidiaries to prioritise the segments and bring these value propositions to life.
For example, MTN Afghanistan has set up women-only retail stores, run by women for women. This female-only retail environment was key to achieving success in the female market segments in this country, where cultural norms strongly discourage contact between unrelated men and women. In Liberia, meanwhile, the MTN operator recognised that women in the Her&Home segment need regular contact with a small circle of family and friends. Therefore, new tariff plans were developed aimed specifically at this segment which would offer discounted calling during relevant times of day and preferential rates for a select group of mobile numbers. The communications were also specifically designed to appeal to this segment need – a need to be “closer.”
Through its research and market segmentation strategies, MTN is reaching stay-at-home women in unique ways in each market it serves. In addition to driving revenue opportunities and subscriber growth, the company believes its focus on the women’s market is a crucial element in building its brand as a socially progressive company.
Copyright© The Switch Design Company (Pty) Ltd. 2008
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
42 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
43© GSM Association
MalaysiaMaking the Mobile the Indispensable Lifestyle Device
Maxis
Malaysian mobile operator Maxis has reaped success by teaming with content providers to deliver information that women can use in their daily lives.
Delivering bite-sized content relevant to women’s lives can be key to stimulating uptake of value-added services
While poorer low and middle-income countries continue to add female mobile subscribers, wealthier nations such as Malaysia have not only succeeded in reaching nearly 100% penetration in its population, but in closing the gender gap in mobile ownership. This means that Malaysia’s major mobile carriers can no longer rely on a growing subscriber base to fuel growth in revenues and profits.
With so much of the population using mobile phones, mobiles have moved from being merely communication tools to all-around “lifestyle devices.” Maxis, Malaysia’s largest mobile operator by market share, anticipated this shift several years ago and began adopting a segmentation strategy that would increase ARPU by enticing customers to use more value-added services. To address the important female market, in 2006 the company created Her Maxis, a mobile portal offering lifestyle content relevant to women. The lessons the company has learned from its experience with Her Maxis have shed light on how to deliver content that women, as well as other segments, are willing to spend money on.
Her Maxis lets women access content that appeals to their lifestyle in a number of different areas. In addition to diversions such as jokes, horoscopes, games and a service that notifies women of hot shopping deals, Her Maxis offers useful content in areas such as health and beauty, fashion and relationships. This appeals especially to teenage girls and women in their early twenties, who are the heaviest users of mobile portals in Malaysia.
Early on, Maxis used a generic content provider to supply this information, but the carrier shifted strategy and soon began partnering with two prominent women’s magazines, Female and Seventeen. According to Kee Saik Meng of Maxis, “we realized that magazines are authorities on lifestyles for different segments, including women. By partnering we could offer fresh content to our subscribers, and the magazines could reach women without access to the physical magazine, so this was a good fit for them too.”
Providing relevant content requires understanding what different women find useful in their everyday life. Older women are interested in different content than teenagers, so Maxis is working to develop content such as tips for working women and video recipes. Delivering bite-size batches of information is critical, in part because large downloads can be time-consuming and might be interrupted. With about 50,000 users and a projected 100% annual growth rate over the next few years, Her Maxis has become an important and growing offering for Maxis. Its success indicates that delivering convenient information in a format women can use is a good path toward making mobiles the indispensable device in women’s lives.
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
44 © GSM Association
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Value-added Services for Mobile Phone OwnersTelenor Pakistan
One value-added service which is popular among Telenor Pakistan’s female subscribers is cooking recipes. Ten to eleven thousand subscribers dial into an interactive voice response (IVR) system per day to listen to new recipes. Approximately 30% of callers are repeat users. The service is moderately priced and is targeted towards homemakers. However, the service is useful for other demographic groups such as working women trying their hands at cooking as well. Usman Javaid, Director Marketing at Telenor Pakistan believes that demographic group specific VAS will have an increasingly important role in driving the growth of mobile sector, in years to come.
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
45© GSM Association
A Geographic Perspective on Women and Mobile Phones
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Bolivia
2009 GDP per capita US$1,716
Population 9.9 million
Adjusted mobile penetration 42%
Female mobile penetration 38%
Male mobile penetration 47%
Mobile gender gap 19%
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Egypt
2009 GDP per capita US$2,450
Population 83 million
Adjusted mobile penetration 55%
Female mobile penetration 47%
Male mobile penetration 63%
Mobile gender gap 26%
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
46 © GSM Association
India
2009 GDP per capita US$1,033
Population 1.2 billion
Adjusted mobile penetration 34%
Female mobile penetration 28%
Male mobile penetration 40%
Mobile gender gap 31%
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Kenya
2009 GDP per capita US$842
Population 39.9 million
Adjusted mobile penetration 39%
Female mobile penetration 34%
Male mobile penetration 44%
Mobile gender gap 22%
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Earning Money by Saving TimeZain, Kenya
Stella, housecleaner in Nairobi: “Zap allows me to send money to my family. I don’t have to get on a bus for hours or ask a friend or family member to deliver the money. I simply send the money by Zap and it arrives fast. I sometimes had to take time off work to take money home. Now I can send it through Zap and instead of travelling, use the time to work and make more money. My family is better off with Zap.”
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
47© GSM Association
Recommendations and Next Steps
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Specifically address women in segmentation strategies and marketing tactics
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Create innovative programmes to increase women’s mobile ownership rates
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
48 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
50 © GSM Association
Appendix A: Key Terms and Concepts
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity A study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
51© GSM Association
Appendix B: Methodology
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
52 © GSM Association
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Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
Women & Mobile: A Global OpportunityA study on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries
54 © GSM Association
Endnotes
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For further information please contact [email protected] GSMA London Office T +44 (0) 20 7356 0600 www.gsmworld.com/mwomenFebruary 2010