Section 5 | RECOMMENDATIONS Women are more likely to extensively use ICTs if they perceive benefits to investing time and resources to do so. In addition to subtle gender-based issues of access to ICTs and strong normative control at all levels of the digital skills pyramid, the research revealed that a large measure of the gender digital divide in Myanmar is due to the lack of benefits that currently accrue to women users of ICTs. Hampered by very basic digital skills; a reliance on family members or friends to share devices; limited exposure to the types of information, products, and services available online; and a dearth of relevant digital content by and for women to tempt them, women are more likely to report “no need” than “affordability” as the reason they do not own a mobile phone. Align More Digital Content with Women’s Needs: Recent gender assessments strongly suggest that men and women in Myanmar have different governance priorities, with women more likely to cite health care, education, sanitation, and microfinance as pressing issues. Current donor technical assistance to the Government of Myanmar in support of e-governance readiness should boost women’s meaningful usage of ICT-enabled public services. It can achieve this through policies and programs to support e-government services in areas women prioritize, such as WASH, education, and income generation. For example, expediting digital security measures like e-ID can increase women’s support for and likelihood to engage in e-commerce, online microcredit, and other financial services. Similarly, mEducation initiatives like parent-teacher communications using social media or SMS can increase engagement with technology by providing concrete benefits like timely or mother tongue information. In addition, to supplement government efforts, private ICT firms, CSOs, and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) should work together to expand the ecosystem for digital services in health, education, and agriculture, such as crowdsourcing geodata on WASH hotspots to identify schools without safe water ü QUICK WIN Private-sector CSR initiatives should support CSO-led supplies or adding languages and targeted content like adolescent and geriatric health inclusive information information to existing apps like iWoman to help those most affected by the digital divide. campaigns to raise public Address Women’s Digital Safety and Security Concerns: The Tatmadaw’s constitutional awareness of basic digital safety and other broadly worded legislative mandates to protect national security make the and security best practices pending cyber security bill politically charged and likely subject to closed-door negotiations. through universities, schools, However, the bill is an important leverage point to address widely perceived risks libraries, mobile service accompanying women’s and girls’ access to and use of ICTs. Fear is a disincentive to providers’ retail outlets, cyber deeper engagement with ICTs that can lead to greater benefits. Women’s rights, legal, and media- and tech-focused CSOs should coordinate to advocate for clauses in the pending cybersecurity law that clearly define and establish punitive consequences for violations of privacy and online gender-based harassment. To foster effective implementation, all formal cafes, telecenters, tea shops, police stations, banks, post offices, health centers, and and informal digital skills training—from civil servants to youth—must include essentials of other public venues serving online safety that covers rights and responsibilities. diverse clientele. Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 90