Girls and women are often targeted as key beneficiaries of programmes; however, they may continue to be missed if interventions do not account for the gendered social relations that govern access to digital technologies. Despite gendered blind spots and biases, digital health has the potential to positively impact gender relations.
When digital health interventions are gender-blind, they may potentially place key intended populations further risk at risk. For example, digital health programmes may threaten familial relationships if the messaging empowers practices in conflict with prevailing social norms.
Third, women, girls, and other marginalised gender identities are often targeted as homogenous groups and not given opportunities to actively engage in and shape projects to better fit their needs.
When digital health interventions are gender-blind, they may potentially place key intended populations further risk at risk. For example, digital health programmes may threaten familial relationships if the messaging empowers practices in conflict with prevailing social norms.
A critical first step in developing digital health solutions that support gender equality is to understand existing gender inequalities and power relations. Consulting and engaging marginalised women – as well as men, leaders, decision-makers, and gatekeepers – is vital to ensuring that interventions address their needs and do not further harm them.
Addressing gender inequality through digital health also requires exploring how gender intersects with other social stratifiers to influence experiences of marginalisation. Women, girls, and other marginalised gender identities are often targeted as homogenous groups and not given opportunities to actively engage in and shape projects to better fit their needs.
Providing sustained support over time, across all health system stakeholders and levels, is necessary to ensure that transformative change is not limited to one subset of actors in the health system. Incremental learning and reflection are also required in order to nurture acceptance and respond to unanticipated reactions.
