More women in developing countries will own phones, thanks to the availability of cheap phones and features that appeal to them.

According to mobile companies in the region, the mobile money platforms have encouraged women with low incomes to own a phone because of the need to receive and send money. Safaricom, Bharti Airtel, Vodacom and MTN all have mobile money platforms.

“M-Pesa provides financial security for women as it gives them an independent place to store and manage their funds,” said Nzioka Waita, Safaricom corporate affairs manager.

Orange Kenya is launching one of the cheapest phones in the market that will appeal to low-income earners. “We are launching the Kaduda handset, which will retail at Ksh999 ($11) and will have dual SIM capability, a 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, a micro SD slot and data capability,” said the operator in a statement.

A new study by Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) titled Women and Mobile: Still an Untapped Opportunity, shows that more women would be willing to own a phone if the handsets are cheap and have features and services that appeal to their gender.

The study shows that the top five barriers to women owning and using mobile phones from a customer perspective are cost, network quality and coverage, security and harassment, operator/agent trust, and technical literacy and confidence.

The study released last week was carried out in 11 countries including Kenya, Egypt and Niger. Others were India, Colombia, Jordan, Indonesia, Mexico, China and Turkey.

“It is important to recognise that because of these factors, women are usually more price-sensitive than men. Therefore, more competitively priced handsets and handset packages are more likely to benefit women,” reads the report.

According to the survey, an estimated eight per cent of women could directly improve their livelihoods as a result of mobile ownership. Experts however said education is key to empowering women to embrace phones and technology.

“If you really want to address some of the structural issues, you don’t just do that by giving women a pink phone; we have to make sure that girls remain in school and get the same quality of education and go on to earn incomes that allow them to access technologies,” said Alison Gilwald, executive director of Research ICT Africa.

“Our flagship CSR programme, which is all inclusive, enables students to access the Internet free of charge in order to enhance their knowledge and success. In Kepeto Primary School in Kajiado County, our women leaders, dubbed Airtel Divas, coached girls and educated them on the need to stay in school,” said Adil El Youssefi, CEO, Airtel Kenya.

According to GSMA, companies should invest in consumer research to better deliver services that meet the needs of women and integrate user-centric design principles into handsets and services. The study recommends that mobile companies improve their network quality and coverage to reduce dropped calls and that they should expand into rural areas.

The study is being released at a time when mobile phone providers across the region are deploying 4G networks to enhance quality and reach. Orange, Safaricom, Bharti Airtel, Vodacom and MTN are banking on 4G to improve their coverage.

Governments are also pushing for the provision of quality services.

According to Caren Grown, World Bank Group senior director, solutions to gender disparity are required on all fronts.

“There is a need to create more and better jobs for women; close gaps in ownership of land, housing, assets, and businesses; tackle gender-based violence; expand women’s access to banking and other financial services; and properly quantify and account for labour associated with the so-called care economy — in which women perform the vast majority of the world’s unpaid care,” she said.

Source: The East African

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