GENDER DISPARITY IN INTERNET ACCESS AND USAGE IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Statistics available show a significant increase in global internet use. In 2007 internet use was only 20.6% but it gradually increased to 47.1% in 2016. despite this positive development, studies have shown that there are disparities in internet usage between countries and within countries. According to statistics (2018) only 18.6% of the female population in Africa had online access. Nigeria has been ranked the first in Africa and the eighth in the world in terms of internet usage. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to find out the level of internet access and use among the respondents based on gender, with kano municipal as a case study. The survey research method was used and stratified sampling was applied to select 200 male and 200 female respondents. Results show that there is gender disparity as more men access and use the internet more than women. Reasons identified for this phenomenon include inadequate education, inadequate internet skills, cost of using the internet, inadequate time due to domestic roles and attitudes of man. The paper also argues that gender disparity has implications for development in Nigeria as it leads to the gender digital divide. It also denies a lot of women many benefits of using the internet in terms of economic, social, political, educational and cultural growth. Women have missed out on a lot of opportunities like a public discussion about topical issues, networking, online long-distance education, e-commerce, participation in development issues and information on various issues.