Digital divide and women’s (dis)empowerment A study of selected tribal communities in the Wayanad District of Kerala, India
Main Article Content
Keywords
Digital Divide, Digital (Dis)empowerment, Tribal Communities, Digital Transformation
Abstract
This study explores digital empowerment among tribal women in Wayanad, Kerala, India, where remote communities are often disconnected from mainstream society and lack digital access. Using probability proportionate to size sampling and statistical methods like Chi-Square and Random Forest, it found many tribal women are digitally disempowered, with no access to the internet or social media. Notably, women from the Paniya and Adiya communities, among the most marginalised, are particularly disadvantaged. The digital divide hinders their empowerment, calling for targeted government efforts to address this issue, essential for their social and economic upliftment in the digital age.
References
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United Nations. (2005). Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICT. Division for the Advancement of Women. https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/w2000-09.05-ict-e.pdf
Wajcman, J., Young, E., & Fitzmaurice, A. (2020). The digital revolution: Implications for gender equality and women’s rights 25 years after Beijing. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/The-digital-revolution-Implications-for-gender-equality-and-womens-rights-25-years-after-Beijing-en.pdf
Bhat, M. I. (2019). Women empowerment and technologies: An overview. In R. Kaur (Ed.), Ethics and society (pp. 44–54). The Bhopal School of Social Sciences. https://online.fliphtml5.com/jhnr/giiz/#p=11
Chauhan, K., & Tomar, M. (2023). Internet use and its connection with women empowerment. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Management, 5(7), 35–43. https://doi.org/10.35629/5252-05073543
Council for Social Development. (2017). Digital literacy training to non-IT literate citizens: Impact assessment of the National Digital Literacy Mission. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. https://www.csdindia.org/pdfs/Project-reports/Digital-Literacy-Report-2017.pdf
Gillwald, A., & Partridge, A. (2022). Gendered nature of digital inequality: Evidence for policy considerations. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/BP.1_Alison%20Gillwald.pdf
Gupta, V. (2023). Digital learning paradox and women empowerment. The Times of India Blogs. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/digital-learning-paradox-and-women-empowerment
Klumpp, E. (2022). Empowering women and girls in digitalization and Industry 4.0. United Nations Industrial Development Organization. https://www.unido.org/stories/empowering-women-and-girls-digitalization-and-industry-40
Mackey, A., & Petrucka, P. (2021). Technology as the key to women’s empowerment: A scop-ing review. BMC Women’s Health, 21, Article 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01225-4
Majhi, P., & Behera, H. (2020). Empowerment of tribal women in Digital India. International Education & Research Journal, 6(7), 8–10. https://ierj.in/journal/index.php/ierj/article/view/2066
Malhotra, R. (2015). Empowering women through digital technology: An Indian perspective. International Journal of Business Management, 2(1), 502–508. https://www.academia.edu/35515979/Empowering_Women_through_Digital_Technology_An_Indian_prospective
Mehrauli, S., Rahim, K. A., Campbell, S., & Lassi, Z. S. (2021). Does digital literacy empower adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, Article 761394. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.761394
Mukherjee, E., Manzar, O., Aggarwal, R., & Kumar, R. (2016). Exclusion from digital infra-structure and access. Digital Empowerment Foundation.
Natuvilakkandy, S., & Kumar, K. S. (2018). Realities of digital inclusion among tribal women: Experiences from Kerala. OSF Preprints. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/G9Q74
Rama Devi, T. (2017). Gender equality: Women empowerment. Global Journal for Research Analysis, 6(9), 141–143. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/global-journal-for-research-analysis-GJRA/special_issues_pdf/September_2017_1507115725__62.pdf
Ramakrishnappa, V. (2022). Exclusion of Scheduled Tribes in access to digital services in In-dia: Bottlenecks and the way forward. East African Scholars Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 5(9), 251–255. https://doi.org/10.36349/easjebm.2022.v05i09.001
Rowntree, O., & Shanahan, M. (2020). Connected women: The mobile gender gap report. GSM Association. https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GSMA-The-Mobile-Gender-Gap-Report-2020.pdf
Shettar, R. M. (2015). A study on issues and challenges of women empowerment in India. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 17(4), 13–19. https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Vol17-issue4/Version-1/B017411319.pdf
Smitha, H. S. (2018). Empowerment of women through digital literacy strategies: New chal-lenges. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 23(3), 21–23. https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Conf.17036/Volume-3/7.%2021-23.pdf
Summers, K. H., Baird, D. T., Woodhouse, E., Christie, M. E., McCabe, T. J., Terta, F., & Peter, N. (2020). Mobile phones and women’s empowerment in Maasai communities: How men shape women’s social relations and access to phones. Journal of Rural Studies, 77, 126–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.04.013
Thomas, S. T., Thomas, E. T., McLean, M., & Titus, T. T. (2021). Paving the way to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for women from Indigenous com-munities: Lessons from Attappady, India. Discover Sustainability, 2, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00009-y
Thompson, K. M., & Paul, A. (2016). “I am not sure how much it will be helpful for me”: Fac-tors for digital inclusion among middle- and upper-class women in India. The Library Quarterly, 86(1), 93–106. https://iimk.ac.in/uploads/publications/236fullp.pdf
Tyers-Chowdhury, A., & Binder, G. (2021). What we know about the gender digital divide for girls: A literature review. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/eap/media/8311/file/What%20we%20know%20about%20the%20gender%20digital%20divide%20for%20girls:%20A%20literature%20review.pdf
United Nations. (2005). Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICT. Division for the Advancement of Women. https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/w2000-09.05-ict-e.pdf
Wajcman, J., Young, E., & Fitzmaurice, A. (2020). The digital revolution: Implications for gender equality and women’s rights 25 years after Beijing. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/The-digital-revolution-Implications-for-gender-equality-and-womens-rights-25-years-after-Beijing-en.pdf
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Published
2025-07-19
Article Details
How to Cite
Arya, S., & Pradeep Kumar, B. (2025). Digital divide and women’s (dis)empowerment: A study of selected tribal communities in the Wayanad District of Kerala, India. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 13(2), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v13n2.1097
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Digital Economy & Society
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How to Cite
Arya, S., & Pradeep Kumar, B. (2025). Digital divide and women’s (dis)empowerment: A study of selected tribal communities in the Wayanad District of Kerala, India. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 13(2), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v13n2.1097
