PTA Raises Concern Over Low Female Presence in the IT Industry

The information technology (IT) industry and the digital landscape are experiencing significant growth, yet women in Pakistan remain “alarmingly low” in these fields.

In a report released on Thursday by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), it was noted that women in Pakistan still make very limited economic contributions, especially in the realm of technology and digital spaces.

Approximately 327 million fewer women than males around the world have access to cell phones and the internet. The OECD report “Bridging the Digital Gender Divide” brought attention to this issue by describing the wide gap between both sexes in matters of technology.

Amazingly, this is happening at the same time as Pakistan is supposedly seeing a surge in tech and internet usage.

A blog post from the United Nations Development Program states that global internet exposure was still below 40% in 2022, despite a huge increase of 22 million users, or 35.9%, from 2021.

In terms of gender equality and digital inclusion, Pakistan scored among the worst, according to the annual PTA report that was released last week.

Challenges Faced by Women in Digital Inclusion

The report identified major barriers for women in Pakistan, including:

• Limited digital literacy.
• Restricted access to financial services, such as bank accounts.
• Lack of national identity (CNIC) for nearly 25% of adult women.
• High costs of devices and broadband.
• Scarcity of locally relevant content.
• Safety concerns.
• Patriarchal societal controls.