Organizaciónde las Naciones Unidas
para la Educación,la Ciencia y la Cultura

WOMEN’S RIGHTS ONLINEREPORTCARD
GUATEMALA
Measuring Progress,
Driving Action

INTE’SEN

CESS &T AC ER WOMERN MPOW MENTE

GUATEMALA
OVERALL SCORE: 4
SCORE:

40%

SCORE:DA BILI

TY

3.5

According to the Alliance for an Affordable Internet,
the price of 1 GB in Guatemala is US$12.91, which
represents 3.51% of the average monthly income
per capita,. this is above the UN’s threshold of 2%
and therefore too expensive for a country with highlevels of poverty. Currently, there are not public
policies, or any plans that promote free or low-costaccess to the Internet. The Digital Nation Agenda
lacks institutionalization which prevents its execution.

DIGITAFORAccording to official data, only 30.32% of the womenuse a mobile phone, the 10.17% use a computer andthe 27.56% have access to the Internet at national level.
Also, the Alliance for Affordable Internet Affordability
Report states that the country has an Internet accessof 41%. According to GSMA 48% of the women haveaccess to a smartphone. However, it is not clear which
type of content they have access to, or if they are using
the Internet to generate content.

SCORE:LSKILLS & EDU

CIONATAF

3.5

5

The Digital Nation Agenda establishes that theGovernment’s priority is to promote access totechnology in educational establishments. According
to the National Secretariat of Science and Technology(SENACYT) women have less participation in STEM
careers. On the other hand, in the field of researchand development of technology and engineering, only
33% are women.

RELEVAICESRVSCORE:

LINE S AFETYNOCONTENT & SETN

4.5

The Government does not provide online information
on sexual and reproductive rights, but there aresome civil society organizations that provide thisinformation through their digital channels. According
to the World Bank, 42.1% of women have access toonline financial services, however, there is no official
national information on this subject.

SCORE:

3.5

Criminal legislation applies to some offenses of online
gender-based violence, like the capture, storage anddissemination of non-consensual private material,and obtaining and disseminating images captured
by a third party. However, there is no effective legal
mechanism that allows women to report this typeof violence. Additionally, Guatemala does not have adata protection law.

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP: A 5 POINT ACTION PLAN
1 	CONDUCT RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES ON WOMEN’S INTERNETACCESS AND USE. The Government must research and collect specific data on how women accessand use theInternet, to develop comprehensive public policies to reduce the gender gap at national level.
2 	INTEGRATE GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN DIGITAL NATION AGENDA. To review

and foster the governance of the Digital Nation Agenda to ensure its continuity and to include the genderequality in its objectives.
3 	ESTABLISH MECHANISMS TO ADDRESS ONLINE GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE.

Develop skills and awareness on online gender-based violence among the authorities of the justice system
to prosecute and punish this violence, with respect for online freedom of expression.
4 	IMPROVE PUBLIC INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE. The Government must prioritize thedeployment of Internet infrastructure to ensure coverage throughout the country, with priority given to rural
areas where women are particularly at a disadvantage in accessing the Internet.
5 	PROMOTE DIGITAL EDUCATION AT ALL EDUCATIONAL LEVELS. Invest in thedevelopment of digital skills at all education levels aimed at girls and women. Promote access to content
in all the languages.

PROJECT OVERVIEWThe United Nations recently
made gender-equitable access to
information and communications
technologies (ICTs) central to the
Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), which set the global
development agenda until 2030.
Why? ICTs are powerful. They can help todeliver improved healthcare, quality education
for all, financial inclusion, more accountable
government, and much more. In adopting theSDGs, all countries have pledged to prioritiseuniversal Internet access, and to use ICTs toempower women.
But much hard work lies ahead if weare to translate this vision into reality. A
formidable gender gap in Internet access,digital skills and online rights exists - our
Women’s Rights Online research shows that inmany communities, women are 50% less likely
than men to be online and 30-50% less likely

to use the Internet for economic and politicalempowerment. Women face many barriers- including high costs, lack of know-how,
and a scarcity of relevant and empoweringcontent - as well as social and legal obstacles
to speaking freely and privately online.
The Web Foundation and partners have
prepared these gender audits to help countries
assess what they need to do to overcome thegender digital divide. UNESCO has taken
the lead, in consultation with other national
stakeholders, on identifying concrete steps
that government can take in the next year toaddress the challenges and gaps identified.
We hope that this report card and action plan
will spark debate and galvanise policy change.

A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY:
We based our scores on 14 simple indicators for which reliable empirical evidence exists,and grading was done in the first semester of 2020 by Montserrat Vidal and Sara Fratti..
See the accompanying overview for a description of the indicators and sources used. A
full methodology is available on our website.

Produced with support from:

Organizaciónde las Naciones Unidas
para la Educación,la Ciencia y la Cultura