Mobile Phone Use and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh

An Analysis of the Bangladesh Financial Inclusion Insights Survey 2017

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13026041
AutoresAshim Kumar Nandi (0000-0001-7158-6238, University of Barishal), Ann‐zofie Duvander (0000-0001-5241-4588, Stockholm University)
Año2025
Volumen14
Número3
Páginas139-139
Fecha de publicación2025-02-25
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Sciences (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/socsci14030139
OpenAlexW4407944396
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas41

Despite steady economic and social development in Bangladesh, women are in an underprivileged situation in many ways. This study explores the association between the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh. This study employs ordinary least squares regression, the ordered logit model, and the multinomial logit model, using Financial Inclusion Insights (2017) Survey data, to investigate the relationship between mobile phone use and women’s empowerment. The study’s main result indicates that mobile phone use facilitates women’s empowerment in general, but the impact needs to be considered for different groups of women. Housewives who are restricted within the household are impacted less than non-housewives by mobile phone use, contrary to our expectations. Also heads of households and spouses of heads of households, who are in very different positions in a patriarchal family structure, are similarly impacted by mobile phone use. This result implies that ICT only affects the empowerment of women who are not restricted to the household, and we conclude that ICT access alone is not enough to ensure women’s awareness about their rights

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Empowerment · Financial inclusion · Financial literacy · Financial services · Inclusion (mineral · Mobile phone · Phone · Smart phone · Telecommunications · Women's empowerment · Engineering · ICT in Developing Communities · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Social Psychology · Finance