The After Access qualitative study on gender and digital technologies examines the lived experiences of female adolescents, teachers, health workers, and women entrepreneurs in Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia to better understand how gendered social, economic, and infrastructural conditions shape digital access and use.
In the Uganda report, the study finds that while mobile phones and digital services are increasingly embedded in women’s everyday lives, supporting communication, education, healthcare delivery, and income-generating activities, significant gendered inequalities persist. Women and girls, particularly in rural and low-income communities, continue to face barriers linked to affordability, unreliable connectivity and electricity, limited digital skills, and restrictive social norms. Basic and feature phones remain the primary point of access for many women, while smartphones are essential but often out of reach for sustained professional and economic use.
The research highlights how digital tools such as mobile money platforms, WhatsApp, and sector-specific systems in education and health are expanding opportunities and reshaping service delivery. At the same time, uneven access, cultural resistance to women’s digital autonomy, and safety concerns limit the transformative potential of these technologies. The report calls for coordinated, gender-responsive action — including improved rural infrastructure, targeted subsidies for devices and data, inclusive digital literacy programmes, and community-level engagement to address harmful norms — to ensure that Uganda’s digital transformation supports equitable participation and meaningful inclusion for women and girls.
