MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR Many men and women often have a limited understanding of what the ‘internet’ is, and therefore do not see why it is relevant to them. Negative perceptions of the internet are common, especially among those with limited experience and knowledge of it. This is especially true for people who do not own a mobile phone. There is a vague sense that one can gain knowledge, communicate with those far away, and meet new people through the internet. Much of women’s understanding of the internet is shaped by Facebook and chat applications like Viber and BeeTalk, and is based on either hearsay or watching others use it. Since women are the primary managers of household finances, the value proposition for adopting data services has to be great enough to justify diverting some of the household’s limited budget away from daily necessities, children’s education, etc. Some smartphone owners (both male and female) were not aware of the choice of news and topics they could access through the internet. Some who have not yet had any first-hand experience, but have ‘heard’ about the internet tend to focus on negative stories, such as ‘inappropriate’ online flirting or content.5 Once people become actual data service users (even if they do not own a handset of their own), negative perceptions seem to be displaced by the benefits, such as maintaining relationships, emotional well-being, economic well-being, and knowledge and skills. ACTOR ACTION Introduce more creative pricing to appeal to women’s price sensitivity, call patterns, and daily routines (e.g. creative tariff plans, innovative data packages, lowdenomination top-ups, bite-sized or on- demand data pricing, emergency credit services) Develop clear and transparent pricing, including warning reminders, especially for data charges Demand stimulation Secure sufficient international bandwidth to keep up with increasing data traffic Mobile network operators Create an enabling environment for the local app market to grow, and develop locally relevant and accessible apps for women Develop digital skills content (e.g. short tutorial-style videos), which can be disseminated via social media, agent networks, or other channels. Content development Summary of recommendations for stakeholders in Myanmar6 Digital skills/literacy development The identified stakeholder is a primary actor The stakeholder needs to play a supporting/facilitating role ACTOR ACTION Network roll-out to increase female (and male) mobile ownership Government Demand stimulation Create an enabling environment for the local app market to grow, and develop locally relevant and accessible apps for women Develop digital skills content (e.g. short tutorial-style videos), which can be disseminated via social media, agent networks, or other channels Create incentives for agent networks to improve the digital literacy of their female (and male) customers (i.e. an in-person approach) Continue efforts to design competitively priced and more durable, more affordable smartphones Ensure fair and affordable access by all mobile operators to the incumbent backhaul fibre optic network and sufficient coverage and capacity spectrum Simplify right-of-way access to all telecom operators (for backhaul and access network) Incorporate basic digital skills (internet safety and privacy awareness) into the national ICT curriculum beginning in primary school Digital skills/ literacy development for women (and men, who women sometimes learn from) Support efforts by other stakeholders to develop digital skills content (e.g. short tutorial-style videos), which can be disseminated via social media or other channels Content development Target men in marketing campaigns to reach women in settings where men commonly make decisions about women’s SIM cards and plans Explore the possibility of providing scaled down (lower cost) and easier-to-use versions of popular handset brands which meet user requirements, in order to make them more affordable for non-owners Handset manufacturers Develop innovative financing mechanisms to lower the cost of handsets (e.g. microloans, monthly installments) Conduct additional research on the negative perceptions of available low-cost handsets; identify actions to negate the perceptions (e.g. mobile repair services, partnerships with low-priced handset manufacturers) Develop solutions to improve the phone-sharing experience, especially ensuring data privacy for different users Demand stimulation App developers Support the creation of an enabling environment for the local app market to grow, and develop locally relevant and accessible apps for women Ensure an equitable, transparent, and predictable taxation system, and ensure there are no distortions in investment and consumption of mobile services Demand stimulation Content development and digital skills/ literacy development Develop solutions to improve the phone-sharing experience, especially ensuring data privacy for different users Develop locally relevant apps which take current low levels of digital literacy into account Lower data costs by designing apps that update efficiently NGOs Digital skills/literacy development Development of digital skills content (e.g. short tutorial-style videos) which can be disseminated via social media, grassroots networks, etc. Banks and other finance institutions Demand stimulation Develop innovative financing mechanisms to lower the cost of handsets (e.g. microloans, monthly installments) Investors Demand stimulation and content development Support the local app developer market to grow, and develop locally relevant and accessible apps 5. There is a degree of variation in what is considered ‘inappropriate,’ for example, one respondent mentioned provocative pictures of ‘half naked’ women, while a more conservative elder respondent mentioned she did not want to watch foreign films because she wanted to avoid seeing people kissing. 6. See Section 6 for detailed recommendations. 4 5