Promoting Women Participation in Digital Policy-Making in Nigeria

The gender digital divide in Nigeria has persisted despite efforts by both state and non-state actors to bridge it. There are two reasons for this. One is that efforts tend to target improving access to and providing more opportunities for skills acquisition by women and girls. While these are important, in themselves, they do not address systemic factors that hinder the effective utilization of digital technology by women and girls in the country. This leads credence to the fact that the digital divide is not just about differential in access to and skill to use digital technology. The second reason is that the policies and initiatives are inappropriate because they do not mainstream gender sensitivity in their articulation and design.