` The gendered use of telecom at the bottom of the pyramid Tahani Iqbal mwomen Working Group November 9-10, Chennai, India This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Canada and UKaid from the Department for International Development, UK. 1
Research questions s Is there a gender divide in access to phones at the BOP? Do women and men really differ in their use of the phone at the BOP? Overview: Teleuse@BOP background Divide in access and ownership p@ @BOP Differences in use @BOP The cases of Pakistan and India What do women want? Implications 2
Methodology ogy Many definitions of poverty, but this study uses SEC D and E; between ages 18-60 SEC does not take into account income, but it is closely related to income levels T@BOP2, 2006: 8600+ random sample face-to-face interviews; in 5 countries 50% diary Focus Group Discussions T@BOP3, 2008: 9,950 face-to-face interviews; 1 week usage patterns via diary method (50% of sample) Focused group discussions Mini-ethnographies In-depth interviews with migrant teleusers SEC A, B & C SEC D & E 3
Samples for 2006 and 2008 Bangladesh Pakistan [1] India Sri Lanka [2] Philippines [3] Thailand [4] Total 2006-1,081 3,348 481 1,008 352 6,269 Margin of error @ 95% CL (%) - + 2.7% +1.5% +3% + 3% +7 % 2008 2,050 1,814 3,152 924 800 800 9,540 Margin of error @ 95% CL (%) + 3% + 2% + 2% + 3% + 4% + 4% [1] Pakistan: Excludes tribal regions [2] Sri Lanka: Excludes North and East [3] Philippines: i 2008 Survey was undertaken only among SEC E [4] Thailand: Excludes Bangkok as the SEC DE population in Bangkok is very small 4
Divide in telecom access @ BOP 5
Why worry about gender and telephone access? Many benefits of access to telecom; information, empowerment, etc Lots of focus on creating equality in access research, projects, etc. 6
Is there a gender divide at the BOP? 7
Mobiles more of a male-dominated technology in South Asia Equal access 8
Cost more of a concern among males; Pakistan females lack other options, 2008 9
Growth in female BOP mobile ownership since 2006 Bangladesh not studied in 2006 10
Who made the decision re mobile ownership? South Asian picture improved since 2006 11
Is there a gender divide at the BOP? In Pakistan, India and to a limited extent Sri Lanka, YES Males more likely to use mobiles and public phones; men even dominate the decision to buy a phone 90% 3.0 % who own a phone at BOP 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 36% 19% 41% 62% 77% 2.5 2. 0 1.5 1.0 0.5 Ratio of use (male:fem ale) 0% Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand 0.0 Phone ownership at BOP Ratio of m obile access at BOP (m ale:fem ale) Females more likely to use other peoples phones if not household fixed phones In the Philippines or Thailand, NO 12
Differences in use @ BOP 13
A look at the literature... e Several studies suggest that compared to men, women use telephones: more frequently for a longer durations and primarily for relationship maintenance Moyal 1992; Fischer 1992; Rakow 1992; Claisse and Rowe 1993; Ling 1998; Smoreda and Licoppe 2000; etc 14
Women receive e and make as many calls as men avera age calls pe er month 100 80 60 40 20 0 43 18 25 Male 25 10 15 Female 46 46 19 20 27 26 Male Female 24 27 16 15 9 12 5 14 15 5 11 10 Male Female Male Female 85 79 37 32 48 48 Male Female Outgoing Incoming Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand 15 Source: Diary
Women at the BOP talk as long as men Minutes per call 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 3.2 152 4.5 116 3.3 3.0 148 151 2.5 74 28 2.8 96 4.3 4.2 68 70 4.7 351 4.5 316 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 Minutes per month 0.0 0 Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand Ave. number of minutes per call Ave. number of minutes per month 16 Source: Diary
Women @ BOP use the phone for same purposes as men % of ca alls (incomin ng + outgoing g) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 6.3% 3.6% 22% 71% Male 9% 87% Female e 30% 30% 35% 33% 70% 70% 65% 67% Male Female e Male Female e 43% 57% Male 32% 25% 29% 68% 75% 71% Female e Male Female e No response Intstrumental Relationship Maintainance Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand Although studies in Western Africa have found that women make and receive more social calls than men (Huyer, S., Hafkin, N., Ertl, H., and Dryburgh, H., 2006) 17 Source: Diary
Phones used in similar ways by males and females, except SMS in Pakistan (2008) 18
Multiple SIM use more often by males (except Philippines) i 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Number of active SIMs (% of BOP mobile owners) Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Bangladesh Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand 1 2 3 4 5 + Related to availability of disposable income? 19
The strange case of Pakistan Pakistani men at the BOP have greater ownership of fixed as well as mobile phones, and have greater access to public access phones than Pakistani women Men actually seem use the phone more than women more number of calls for relationship maintenance however, women make longer calls Low use of SMS and Internet Possible explanations: Socio-cultural c attitudes/norms towards women, for example Pakistani women s use of public phones When a household owns only one phone, it is very likely that the male will have better access to it 20
India, da, in comparison Indian men at the BOP have greater ownership of fixed as well as mobile phones, and have greater access to mobile phones than Indian women No differences in volume of calls, duration, or purpose 21
What do women want? Relationship maintenance In Philippines, keeping in touch with migrant worker family members is key for women 22
Given the chance, women are as entrepreneurial as men... Use of the phone for productive purposes (% of mobile owners) 100% 90% 80% 10 21 29 21 29 40 10 20 14 19 70% 60% 75 70 I do not use for these purposes Less than once a month 50% Once a month 40% 75 Two or three times a month 66 30% Once a week 53 45 46 Twice a week 20% 38 33 31 33 27 Daily 10% 8 9 0% Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Bangladesh Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand * Productive purposes included financial, business or work related communications 23
What do women want? Privacy In India, women use public phones more freely and prefer to speak in a booth than on a fixed phone at home In Bangladesh and Pakistan, women are less likely to use these booths as they are questioned on their need to talk so much Easy reload/top-up methods Women have to rely on their male counterparts to top-up their mobiles, so as to limit suspicion and gossip among the neighbours Voice is preferred to text Basic mobile connectivity it Although women in Philippines and Thailand as more tech savvy and are more sophisticated in their phone purchases 24
Implications Does the gender divide close as penetration grows? Need time-series data and further study If at all, not in the short-term 90% 3.0 80% 77% 2.5 70% % who own a phon ne at BOP 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 36% 19% 41% 62% 2.0 1.5 1.0 Ratio of use (male e:female) 0.5 10% 0% Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand 0.0 Phone ownership at BOP Ratio of mobile access at BOP (male:female) 25
Many plan to get connected by mid-2008; mostly to mobiles will the gap narrow? 2011 data will show Conne ections at BO OP (millions) 150 100% 125 86% 78% 77% 80% 100 70% 72% 62% 60% 75 50% 41% 40% 36% 50 25 19% 20% 0 0% Pakistan India SiL Sri Lanka Philippinesi Thailand % of house holds at BOP with a telep phone Already own something Don't own but plan to buy Current ownership at BOP (%) Penetration at BOP by mid 2008 26
To conclude... c If countries want to see the divide close,,policies which promote greater mobile access will benefit respective countries Like India has done, policies which enable USO funds to be given to mobile operators also, will be more supportive of equitable access between genders Gender divide id on mobile has serious implications for the up-take of new Mobile 2.0 services by women Given the poor Internet use, as well as inequalities, mobile is the ideal platform to provide more-than-voice services 27
Thank you Q&A 28