"What do we know about the gender digital divide for girls? To date, there is little research on gender differences in digital access for children under the age of 18. These disparities in usage limit women’s access to the full range of opportunities offered by digital. However, the limited data available does indicate a similar pattern of lower access and use for girls, as for women. In countries with data, girls aged 15–19 years were less likely than boys to have used the internet in the past 12 months, and they also had lower mobile phone ownership. The greatest disparities were in South Asian countries. For instance, rates of internet use among boys were double those of girls in Nepal, and quadruple those of girls in Pakistan. Phone ownership was almost 30% higher among boys in Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Weekly access to information media was also substantially lower among adolescent girls in Nepal, India, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste. Boys use far more digital platforms and services for a much wider range of activities than girls, and they are more likely to use the internet. Roughly 46% of boys use the internet on their phones, compared to 27% of girls. Another study, by Girl Effect and the Vodafone Foundation, found boys are 1.5 times more likely than girls to own a mobile phone and 1.8 times more likely to own a smartphone. More than half (52%) of girls borrow mobile phones if they want digital access, compared to 28% of boys. As for adult women, this gender gap in access is echoed in digital use overall. As the digitization of economies expands, economic and social growth will increasingly depend upon people’s ability to use technology. While some jobs require very advanced digital skills, most jobs and daily activities need basic digital literacy to engage with a digital economy. Without increased digital adoption and use, girls will have fewer employment opportunities and will face additional barriers to workforce participation." (Pages 6-7)