The Digital Divide
By: Olushola Olojo
Tags: Sexism, Social Change, Data Visualization, Gender Equality, Technology

Surely you remember playing “Snake” on your mother’s Nokia 3310? I had christened the phone “33-Brick” due to its robust nature. You could bounce that phone off the sidewalk and its exterior wouldn't even flinch. And talk about a battery life that was monstrous — 22 hours of talk time with a single charge?

Unmatched!

The nostalgia continues with the Sony Ericsson W810i. I have fond memories of my schoolmates and I congregating at the back of the bus to sample the latest Giggs’ album, Walk In The Park.

Like sardines, we would cluster tightly and spend hours trying to send music via Infrared. This was well before the luxury of Apple’s Airdrop feature. If the bus hits an aggressive bump on the road, which consequently jolts your connection, that’s tough luck! Suck it up and start the sending process again.

Physics was never my strong suit, but I discovered that by placing the base of the phone against the window, I was able to amplify the sound of the speakers. Ingenious to me, obnoxious to my surrounding passengers. I was a little runt.

Without a doubt, these were doting recollections from an iconic past-time. But, I say all of this to underline the stark difference in technology over the last decade.

Who would have foreseen being able to summon food right to your doorstep without uttering a word (UberEats) — Or dispatch magically disappearing photos (Snapchat). How about transferring digital payments with the press of a button (Venmo).

We’ve been granted the power to communicate with a face residing thousands of miles away, whilst simultaneously accessing real-time information about the 2020 US Presidental Election.

Hey Siri, play “FDT by YG (ft. Nipsey Hussle)”

All on a phone? Yea, right? You would have been laughed off that very same bus for championing such an idea 10 years ago.

The upsurge in technology has been staggering!

But what’s even more staggering is that despite these so-called “digital advancements”, there still exists a substantial gender disparity in mobile phone and internet access.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, men are 21% more likely to be “online” than women — Online referring to internet accessibility. When applied to the world’s least developed countries, this percentage jumps to a whopping 52%.

Additionally, women are grossly underrepresented in the technology sector with only 5% assuming a leadership position.

Gender inequality in a realm that encompasses a tremendous proportion of our modern-day functionality poses a serious threat. Being offline today means missing out on opportunities to augment learning, inevitably dwindling your earning potential. Being offline today limits your access to valuable services and cuts your connection to a wider community. Being offline today is SCARY.

“The digital divide could be deepening existing gender inequalities, pushing women further to the margins of society — Carlos Iglesias

Can I truly identify as a Data Scientist, if I wasn’t chomping at the bits to investigate this matter further? By marrying quantitative data with a visual storytelling element, I sought to breathe qualitative insights into the What, Why, and How surrounding our planet’s digital divide.