Resources

The policy brief is an effort to bring focus on how the digital divide is affecting the adolescent girls against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and hereafter with reference to pre-COVID-19 digital gaps as well. The brief brings out the key areas that can help bridge the gendered digital divide for girls in India, by presenting an on-ground reality of adolescent girls amidst socio-economic challenges such as staggering family income, job insecurities, slow health services, lack of access to critical information and benefits, and loss on attendance in school, given the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Insights

The brief presents locally collected sex- dis-aggregated data to understand the access to digital/mobile devices, access to connectivity and costs, and attitude of the family members in supporting online access for the adolescent girls, besides examining the access and nature of digital content and availability of digital skills. Adolescent girls in India especially in rural areas, are often at the brink of managing their lives, aspirations and education in the background of fulfilling expected social, familial and reproductive roles. The outcome of this brief is aimed at garnering attention towards designing and implementing comprehensive programs that cater to bridge the digital divide for adolescent girls during and post the pandemic.