It is important for all stakeholders to take action to deliver the significant benefits of mobile and the internet to women, their families, communities and the economy. Mobile can help empower women, making them more connected, safe and able to access information and services. Closing the mobile gender gap also represents a significant commercial and economic opportunity.

To inform this action, this report presents an update to the findings of previous GSMA research on the mobile gender gap conducted in 2015 and 2018, including:

• Updated estimates of the size of the gender gap in mobile ownership and mobile internet use and whether it is closing;
• The profile of the unconnected and the barriers to mobile ownership and mobile internet use; and 
• For the first time, an estimate of the economic impact of closing the mobile internet gender gap in LMICs, as well as an updated estimate of the commercial opportunity of closing the mobile gender gap for the mobile industry.

The findings are sourced primarily from the 2018 GSMA Intelligence Consumer Survey, which has over 20,000 respondents from 18 LMICs. Analysis of other research and data from the GSMA, and from a range of other organisations involved in investigating and tracking the mobile gender gap, was also used to inform the findings of this report.