Mobile Technology and Gender Equality

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunicationstelephone lines and wireless signals and computers, as well as softwares that enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. Mobile technology is, literally speaking, the type of technology that goes where the user goes. It consists of portable two-way communication devices, computing devices, and the networking technology that connects them. Currently, mobile technology is typified by internet-enabled devices like smartphones, tablets and watches. In this work, mobile technology refers more narrowly to mobile phones of any types, including smartphones. The United Nations (UN) define gender equality as equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men become the same but that women's and men's rights, responsibilities, and opportunities do not depend on whether they are born female or male. Gender equality implies that the interests, needs, and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. As of 2017, gender equality is the fifth of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN). Gender inequality is measured annually by the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Reports.

Mobile phones and infant health at birth

“…Across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) hold huge promise for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and gender equality. For instance, Target 5B of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 indicates the enhanced use of “enabling technology” as a pathway through which to promote women’s empowerment [ 1 ]. Similarly, through its global “digital health” agenda, the World Health Organization (WHO) is harnessing the power of ICTs and health innovations to accelerate global attainment of health and wellbeing [ 2 ].…”

“…Research on the role of mobile phones in promoting better health across LMICs has been growing gradually over the last decade, partly in response to the implementation of a series of technological interventions [ 1 , 3 ]. Relatedly, health practitioners have been at the forefront of using mobile phones as a development tool to implement “mobile-health” ( mHealth ) projects.…”

“…MHealth projects range in variety and scope, from monitoring measles outbreaks in Zambia, to supporting diagnosis and treatment by health workers in Mozambique, to sending health education messages in Benin, Malawi, and Uganda [ 3 ]. In other countries such as Kenya, Malaysia, and South Africa, mobile phones have been used to send reminders to HIV-positive patients about their anti-retroviral therapy (ART) schedule, as well as to allow community health workers to send information about HIV patients’ status [ 1 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…These interventions well exemplify the potential role that mobile phones may play when it comes to influencing infant health by means of improved knowledge, which in turn reflects onto better maternal health. More details on the topic can be found in a review study focused on the role of mobile phones and gender-related outcomes [ 1 ].…”

“…On the other hand, country-specific studies have highlighted important contextual factors and barriers that may prevent some women from benefitting fully from digital-technology interventions [ 1 ]. For instance, researchers have investigated the usage of mobile phones for seeking childbirth services in Bangladesh and have documented a low rate of utilization among urban women, with important variation among slum and non-slum dwellers, mostly due to socioeconomic, neighborhood, and environmental barriers, alongside poor literacy skills (skill-related digital divides) [ 19 ].…”