E-commerce and digitalization can empower women in trade, but without gender-sensitive policies and actions, they can widen pre-existing gender gaps in the society and the economy.

To help avoid this, UNCTAD and the Chilean government co-organized an event to address this issue on March 7 during the 67th session of the Commission of the Status of Women.

“We need to avoid replicating the obstacles women face in offline trade in online trade,” said Simonetta Zarrilli, who leads UNCTAD’s trade and gender programme. “The first step for doing so is to identify women’s specific obstacles in the digital economy.”

E-commerce: Challenges hindering women

E-commerce opportunities are closely linked to the availability and affordability of the internet and the skills required to use it.

In developed countries, the gender gap in internet use is estimated at only 1 per cent, while in least developed countries (LDCs) it’s as high as 13 per cent, according to UNCTAD calculations based on data from the International Telecommunications Union.

In 2022, more than 90 per cent of women and men used the internet in developed countries, compared with 43 per cent of men and only 30 per cent of women in LDCs, according to estimates.

Apart from low levels of internet access and use, participants at the event discussed other barriers faced by women. They include lack of access to finance, low knowledge about market requirements or e-payment options, limited business networks and lower levels of entrepreneurial skills.

These challenges make women’s e-businesses smaller and less profitable than those run by men and restrict them to low-value-added sectors.

Experts weigh in on bridging gender gaps

Head of service in the investment and digital economy division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile Alejandro Buvinic said e-commerce is not easy for anyone because one needs a wealth of market and regulatory information, especially if doing cross-border e-commerce.

“To this you need to add the challenge to operate in the digital environment, something still difficult especially for women,” he said.

He added that Chile is bridging knowledge gaps and supporting women-led companies to explore regional markets through its “Mujer exporta” initiative.

But what does it take for a young woman to become an entrepreneur in the digital economy, especially in a male-dominated sector such as video games production?

Head of studio at Gamaga Games Fernanda Contreras Stange said: “Entrepreneurship should be taught to girls from a young age to give them the tools to start their own companies instead of playing the traditional role of supporting businesses run by men.”

In the ground-breaking Buenos Aires Declaration on women and trade, countries committed to making their trade policy more gender responsive, noted CEO of the NGO Women at the Table, Caitlin Kraft Buchman.

“Something similar is needed in the field of digital technology. Neither trade nor technology is gender neutral,” she said.

How to empower women in digital trade

Participants said more women should be included in leadership positions in the tech industry to ensure digitalization doesn’t repeat and magnify gender biases in the analog world.

They underlined the need to make the digital space safe for everyone but especially for women, who face digital harassment and hate speech more than men.

Also, stakeholders should collect sex-disaggregated data to inform gender-responsive digital policies, facilitate public-private partnerships and support digital platforms that pursue development goals through alternative business models.

Participants said gender inequality and digital exclusion are not only morally unacceptable but also make no commercial sense.