MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR 5.2 Understanding the gender gap/differences The gender gap in mobile phone ownership in Myanmar is 29%. As mentioned in Section 1, the gender gap is highest among lower income households, particularly those that spend/earn less than MMK 500,000 (SEC groups C, D, and E). 5.2.1 Barriers to women’s mobile ownership Source: LIRNEasia Baseline Survey, 2015 Table 5 Main reason for not owning a mobile phone % of non-owners Affordability The most common reason for not owning a mobile phone is the inability to afford a handset (Table 5). Affordability is more of a concern in lower income households, with 45% citing it as a main reason for not owning a mobile, compared to 30% in higher income households. This is a concern shared by both male and female non-owners. As the household financial manager, the need women felt to conserve the limited family budget compounds this concern. When there is already a mobile in the household, women feel that since they are not earning, they do not have the resources to purchase a mobile for themselves or the regular airtime purchases needed to use it. At the time of the research, the lowest denomination top-up was MMK 500, only offered by one of the three operators;39 this is more than some rural women earn in a day, if they earn at all. It is important to mention that the perception of affordability is mainly benchmarked against the price of a smartphone. A keypad handset, although cheaper, is hardly considered an option because most people now own a smartphone. Many non-owners felt that others would look down on them if they ‘only’ had a keypad phone. To avoid feeling socially excluded, they would rather wait and save for a smartphone than buy a keypad phone. This is especially the case if there is already a phone in the household that covers ‘basic’ communication needs. Considering that just two years ago access to any mobile phone would have been met with excitement, the speed with which the social status of a mobile phone has changed is tremendous. Male I CANNOT AFFORD A HANDSET 42% I HAVE NO USE FOR IT / DON’T NEED ONE 25% NO MOBILE COVERAGE WHERE I LIVE 11% Female 38% 34% Myanmar total 40% 30% “Usually women my age hardly own a mobile in this village because they don’t have an income. I do business so I need one.” HV, working female owner, 52, rural, SEC C/D 6% 8% “I sometimes weave mats and earn 300–400 kyat a day.“ Female non-owner, 46, SEC D-E, Pantanaw I CANNOT AFFORD A SIM CARD 2% 2% 2% I DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE A MOBILE/TOO COMPLICATED 5% 8% 7% MY PHONE IS BROKEN 5% 2% 3% NO ELECTRICITY WHERE I LIVE TO CHARGE MOBILE PHONE 2% 1% 1% MY PHONE GOT STOLEN 2% 1% 1% OTHER 7% 8% 8% “A touchphone is high class and you can play games with it. Keypads are outdated.” Rural female mobile owners, 18–28, SEC C/D “Others hold a touchphone so I wanted one, too. My wife agreed and came along when I bought it.” FGD Yangon, male owner “Even trishaw drivers have a mobile. All have one. It is rare to find people without a phone especially since you can by them with installments.” FGD, rural, female owner, 18–29, SEC C/D • Measures to make smartphones more affordable will increase uptake by women. • Measures to enable non-earning women to afford to stay connected (e.g. micro-top-ups) can also encourage adoption. 39. http://www.ooredoo.com.mm/en/Personal/Support/FAQ-Result.aspx?Category={1ACF1ABF-1D51-441D-A738-66A185126B14}# 40 41