Would Closing the Gender Digital Divide Close the Economic Gender Gap in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies? An Empirical Assessment

COVID-19 crisis accelerated the use of information technology-based solutions, as e-learning and remote work became the new normal. Nevertheless, access to and use of technology are not gender neutral. In Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs), women have less access to the internet and other technological tools than men. Limited access to technology may hinder women’s access to economic opportunities. Thus, the present paper investigates the impact of the digital gender divide on the gender gap in labor market participation, controlling for the gender gap in education, social norms and other macro-economic characteristics of EMDEs and developed countries. Using World Development Indicators, Global Findex database and World Value Surveys for 2017, a two-stage least squares approach was used to control for the endogeneity of the gender gap in access to internet. The results show that closing the gender gap in internet usage would reduce the gender gap in labor market participation. However, this positive effect is lower in the EMDEs than in advanced economies, shedding the light on the importance of traditional gender roles as key determinant of the gender gap in labor market participation in EMDEs. The present results have important implications for policies targeting women empowerment (SDG5) and reducing inequalities (SDG10). Digital solutions could help segments of women manage and balance familial obligations with paid work better.