Section 1 | GLOBAL CONTEXT 1.3 Special Focus on Education Although the gender digital divide has been shown to impact all development sectors, this study incorporates a special focus on education as particularly useful to identifying relevant drivers of change in Myanmar. International research has established a correlation between educational parity and the digital gap62 that is acknowledged in Myanmar’s Comprehensive Education Sector Review and the resultant draft National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2020 (see section 3.3). Multinational donors63 and Myanmar’s evolving ICT policy frameworks64 also highlight the importance of the educational system to roll out ICT access and improve digital skills among the large youth population (28 percent of the population was under age fifteen, according to the 2014 census). Given the large number of out-of-school youth as well as the broad unmet need for digital skills among adult learners, this focus included formal, monastic, and informal education at both public and private institutions. “Male students are much more active in learning how to use the internet. Girls are sometimes even afraid to touch a keyboard.” —Urban CSO representative The assessment team sought stakeholders interested in systemic improvements in education outcomes to identify allies with incentives and resources to close the gender digital divide, with anticipated positive ripple effects in sectors such as workforce development, health, media, civil society, and governance. Potential allies include the diverse government, multilateral institutions, INGOs, and CSOs working together to move the reforms forward. Interviews also revealed potential spoilers due to competing priorities or absence of incentives to support change. In the following sections, the gender digital divide is examined through three conceptual pillars of a problem-driven PEA: foundational factors, institutional rules of the game, and stakeholders here and now. It concludes with pragmatic recommendations for policymakers and implementers that have been appraised as most likely to catalyze efforts to close the gender digital divide in Myanmar. 62 World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group, New Vision for Education: Unlocking the Potential for Technology (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2015). 63 ADB, Developing Myanmar’s Information and Communication Technology Sector Toward Inclusive Growth, ADB Economics Working Paper Series No. 462, November 2015. 64 Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), and Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), Myanmar ICT Sector-Wide Impact Assessment, September 2015. Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 24