Rural-urban divide in internet usage among the women of reproductive age group: a non-linear Fairlie decomposition...

Despite rapid digitization in India, internet usage of rural women still remains lagged behind. The rural-urban divide in internet usage particularly among the women of reproductive age (15-49 years) though being a key concern to resolve, yet limited evidence exists on the factors driving this disparity. This study addresses the research gap by examining the magnitude of the rural-urban gap and identifying the underlying contributors to this gap.

This study utilized information collected from 105,373 women aged 15 to 49 years, (Rural-79,012 and urban-26,361) from the fifth round of of National family Health survey (NFHS-5), conducted in India during 2019-2021. Initially, descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and logistic regression were performed. To quantify the factors contributing to the rural-urban gap in internet usage among women, non-linear Fairlie decomposition analysis was applied.

A substantial and persistent rural-urban gap in internet use was observed among the women of reproductive age. The largest share of the gap was explained by household wealth status (45.75%), followed by household ownership of a mobile phone (27.28%) and women's educational attainment (21.61%).

Addressing rural-urban divide in internet use requires a holistic and intersectional approach. Policies must extend beyond improving connectivity to actively dismantling the social and economic barriers that inhibit women's digital participation irrespective of the place of residence.