Analysis of the Relationship between the Status of Women and Access to Ict in Cameroon

Romain blondel Minlo Obate, ETUDIANT

Around 37% of the world's population has never used the Internet, although almost two-thirds of this population has access (ITU, 2021). Among the unconnected, 96% live in developing countries. In 2023, 63% of women will have access to the Internet compared to 69% of men (UN-WOMEN, 2023). Women are 12% less likely to own a cell phone, a figure unchanged since pre-pandemic times. In Cameroon in 2018, the proportion of women with access to ICT is around 42.52% for women of low social position, 62.53% for those of average social position and 81.58% for women of high social position. The study analyzes the influence of the status of women on access to ICT in Cameroon, using data from the 2018 DHSC-V. The descriptive and explanatory analysis using the multilevel approach reveals that the social position of women significantly influence their access to ICT. Furthermore, women with access to ICT are generally educated, live in urban areas and belong to wealthy female-headed households, they also have a high social position. Promoting the education of girls, especially in rural areas and in the deep South, is recommended to reduce the digital divide between women in Cameroon.

Keywords: Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Multi-level modeling , Gender Dynamics

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