India’s Gendered Digital Divide

Before the pandemic, researchers estimated India’s digital shift could unlock as much as $1 trillion of economic value over 5 years. Nevertheless, when the global crisis struck, it spread those benefits unevenly and widened socioeconomic inequalities, with girls suffering more than boys and rural areas more affected than cities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, half of all students in India had no contact with their schools. Hence, children have had to rely primarily on families to support their studies at home. With school closures due to the pandemic, children used the medium of remote learning. The shift to remote learning highlighted unequal access to technology, particularly in rural India. This chapter explores the digital divide in India, focusing on the gender gap in access to technology and Internet services during the pandemic. It examines how the digital divide in access and use of the Internet for learning has affected both children and women, who are the primary caregivers and most involved family members in their children’s education. The chapter highlights the urgent need to address the digital divide and ensure equitable access to technology and Internet services to support children’s learning and prevent further widening of socioeconomic inequalities in India.