Pakistan’s digital gender gap reduced from 25% to 8%: GSMA report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded one of the fastest improvements globally in women’s digital inclusion, with the mobile internet gender gap falling from 25% to 8% in one year, according to the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026.

The report was launched at an event hosted by the Telecom Operators’ Association and GSMA at JazzWorld in Islamabad, where participants highlighted Pakistan’s progress in narrowing gaps in mobile ownership and internet use.

According to the report, Pakistan recorded the largest improvement among all surveyed countries in reducing the mobile ownership gender gap, which declined from 37% in 2024 to 27% in 2025.

Pakistan also ranked among the top-performing countries across the 14 low- and middle-income countries surveyed, with improvements recorded across nearly all indicators of women’s digital access and usage.

Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, Chairman of the Telecom Operators’ Association Aamir Ibrahim said the progress reflected years of work by the industry and support from public policy.

“I feel very, very good because this is one of the things that we’ve been working on for the last so many years,” Ibrahim said. “We were not really in the place where we wanted to be as a country, where the gap between the usage between men and women was significant.”

“When we bundle a package, it’s not just really a discounted price to incentivise women, it is also geared towards what they would like to see and what are the other facilities that that particular tariff plan or that particular package or that particular handset offers to the women,” Ibrahim said. 

A key finding showed that 94% of women who own smartphones use mobile internet daily, compared with 48% of women using shared devices. The report said device ownership remains critical to enabling meaningful digital participation.

“Pakistan’s progress in narrowing the gender gap in mobile ownership and internet use is a significant achievement and demonstrates what is possible when government, industry, and other stakeholders work toward a shared goal of digital inclusion,” Aamir Ibrahim, chairman of the Telecom Operators’ Association, said.

He said sustaining the momentum would require continued focus on affordability, digital skills and opportunities for women to participate independently in the digital economy.

Julian Gorman, head of Asia Pacific at GSMA, said Pakistan stood out as one of the strongest performers among the countries surveyed.

“Pakistan has been a regional champion on the gender gap for a couple of years now through collective efforts,” Gorman said.

“We’ve been tracking mobile internet adoption across many countries for years, but the story emerging from Pakistan is, quite frankly, one of the most exciting we have seen. Today, we celebrate a remarkable milestone,” he said.

“The substantial reduction in the gender gap reflects meaningful progress driven by collective effort,” Gorman said. 

“Ensuring women have access to their own devices and a supportive digital ecosystem will be critical to maintaining this momentum,” he said. 

The association welcomed policy and industry efforts to expand digital access and commended the Government of Pakistan, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, development partners and industry stakeholders for supporting women’s digital inclusion.