Gender internet usage gap narrows to 25%

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), which chairs the national steering committee for the Digitalisation for Women Economic Empowerment (D4WEE) project, convened a high-level meeting at the UN Women Country Office in Islamabad to review progress on the four-year initiative (2024-2028) funded by KOICA, according to an official statement issued on Monday. The steering committee serves as the highest body for the project, providing strategic oversight, guiding policy integration and ensuring accountability. Key government and private sector stakeholders gathered to assess ongoing efforts and ensure effective delivery of programme objectives. Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja highlighted the committee's mandate to embed project outcomes into institutional strategies, ensure sustainability beyond project cycles and track gender-disaggregated results in real time. She noted Pakistan's progress in digital inclusion, with last year's gender mobile internet usage gap dropping from 36-38% to 25%, and the creation of more than 800,000 digital wallets by women through the Ramazan digital payments initiative. She also emphasised government efforts providing seven million free SIMs to underserved women, expanding access to digital services and financial inclusion. The minister stressed that integrating women into Pakistan's digital economy is critical to formalising the largely informal sector, which constitutes about 50% of GDP. Expanding women's participation strengthens workforce supply, enhances per capita productivity and builds a sustainable talent pipeline. She also called for strategic preparation for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to ensure they act as equalisers rather than exacerbate disparities in access to opportunities.