Tunisia’s Gender Digital Divide: A Case Study of Tunisia’s Gender Gap in Internet Usage and the Role of Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors

Sammanfattning: Today, the digital transformation provides new avenues for women’s empowerment. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), including the internet, can contribute to greater gender equality by enabling everyone access to the same online resources and opportunities. Yet, the prevalence of a gender digital divide means that many women, not least in Tunisia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, still remain on the outside of the digital world. Indeed, despite Tunisia’s comparative progress in terms of women’s rights, Tunisian women’s digital participation still lags behind. This thesis aims to explore gender differences in internet usage in Tunisia and how these are associated with demographic and socioeconomic factors, by mapping out trends following the end of the Arab Spring until the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The study connects an analysis of descriptive statistics to the academic discussion on the gender digital divide and is guided by a feminist approach and a gender analysis framework. It is found that Tunisia’s gender gap in internet usage is the most pronounced among the less educated, the elderly, lower income individuals and people in rural areas. The thesis also finds that access to mobile phones likely impacts individuals’ access to the internet. In light of these findings, targeted policy measures aimed at improving internet access among women in these demographic and socioeconomic groups is considered necessary in order to reduce the country’s gender digital divide.