An official from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that 65% of Filipinos are still not connected to the internet.
During her speech at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Anna Mae Lamentillo, DICT undersecretary for public affairs and foreign relations, added that 86% of Filipino women have access to internet services, but don’t utilize it for valuable activities.
As only 35% of the Philippines have access to the internet, Lamentillo said that they are motivated to do better in connecting every barangay in the country to cyberspace.
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“Access to the internet means access to opportunities. We want to make sure that no Filipino, regardless of age and gender, is left behind in the transition to the digital age,” Lamentillo said.
The DICT exec cited the department’s Women in ICT Development Index (WIDI), which shows that while 86% of Filipino women have access to the internet, only 26% of them utilize it to search for education and government services. Only <20% used it to look for employment and business opportunities.
It also showed that only 6% of women are selling goods or services online, versus the 55% that act as buyers. With this, Lamentillo said that it’s vital to make sure that every Filipino should be equipped with the tools and skills needed to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
As she talked about the digital gender gap during ADB’s launch of the International Women Committee’s (IWC) keynote speaker series, Lamentillo said that the Philippines is one of the 32 countries that missed the chance to a USD1 trillion GDP because of women’s exclusion from the digital world.
The DICT exec also cited a study by the International Finance Corp., which reveals that women entrepreneurs have a chance to compete better if they have access to the necessary digital skills and credit.
It is said that 61% of Filipino women don’t even have a bank account and are not included in the formal economy.
ADB’s IWC is an informal community that helps promote internal dialogue within the ADB community and supports the organization’s International Women Staff.
Via: PhilStar