Introduction Two major constraints experienced during the research process were related to Myanmar’s recent emergence from international isolation and military rule. First, the political and economic situation is rapidly evolving. Ministerial reorganization as the new government took office on April 1, 2016, coupled with ongoing liberalization and decentralization reforms, presented a challenge to obtaining timely and accurate information. In such a highly dynamic political environment, interviewees themselves lacked precise data or information to share on current political priorities and economic interests. Shifting responsibilities and cadre changes were also disincentives to be forthcoming. Loyalty, precedence, and hierarchy are the bedrock of Myanmar political economy, and it is difficult to determine chains of command, agency mandates, and budgets, particularly in regional and local government bodies. Secondly, the lack of existing reliable data complicates efforts to provide a comprehensive examination of the many nuances involved in the gender digital divide, especially in the conflict-affected areas. Much of the ICT data is based on mobile use, and none of the recent broad gender assessments examined the scale or impact of the digital divide on inequality.38 There is also a dearth of age-disaggregated gender data that makes generational comparisons more anecdotal than has been achieved elsewhere. In short, the research team experienced the same frustrations articulated in last year’s Gender and Social Inclusion assessment of a rural development program in Myanmar: “There is a severe lack of data in Myanmar in all areas of interest for this study, including agricultural production, gender equality, ethnography, and other relevant subjects. This is a serious limitation for any desk research on the national-level socioeconomic situation in Myanmar, and even more so for localized studies. There is almost no historic data for any major economic and social indicators, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”39 This creates limitations inherent in comparing different data collected with different methodologies, and care has been taken to note them in this report. Urbano and Dickinson, Women and the Economy in Myanmar. Emerging Markets Consulting, USAID, and Winrock International, Value Chains for Rural Development: Social and Gender Assessment (Washington, DC: USAID, September 2015). 38 39 Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 16