Pakistan’s gender gap in mobile internet usage has narrowed to 25 percent from 36 to 38 percent last year, according to Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, who said the improvement reflects ongoing efforts to expand digital access and financial inclusion for women.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication convened a high-level meeting at the UN Women Country Office in Islamabad to review progress on the Digitalization for Women Economic Empowerment (D4WEE) project, a four year initiative running from 2024 to 2028 and funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency.
According to an official statement, the ministry, which chairs the national steering committee for the project, brought together key government and private sector stakeholders to assess ongoing efforts and ensure effective delivery of programme objectives.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the steering committee serves as the highest oversight body, responsible for strategic guidance, policy integration, accountability, and ensuring the sustainability of project outcomes beyond the programme cycle.
She highlighted Pakistan’s progress in digital inclusion, noting that the gender gap in mobile internet usage has narrowed from 36 to 38 percent last year to 25 percent, while more than 800,000 digital wallets were created by women under the Ramazan digital payments initiative.
The minister also said the government has provided seven million free SIMs to underserved women, aimed at expanding access to digital services and financial inclusion. She stressed that bringing more women into Pakistan’s digital economy is critical to formalising the country’s largely informal sector, which accounts for around 50 percent of GDP, while also strengthening workforce supply and productivity.