Men have a clear advantage in terms of access to ICTs, especially to the internet, as well as in frequency of general ICT use.

Household Access

Chart 1

• Household access for devices such as televisions, mobile phones and radios was nearly equal for men and women in urban Guatemala. However, there was a distinct gender disparity for access to computers, internet connections and MP3/I-Pods, with men in the lead (Chart 1). Internet connections at home were still very rare for both men and women. In addition, landline telephones seem more accessible to men.

General Use

Chart 2

• Media that require literacy such as newspapers and the internet are used less by women (chart 2).
• The same trend is seen when weekly sources of news are examined (chart 3).
• On the other hand, mobile phone use is near equal for men and women; both genders use SMS equally for accessing news weekly
• Television and radio are most regularly used and are also the two most important sources of news and information.

Chart 3

Internet Activities

• Most men and women are likely to access the web at an internet café (see chart 4).

Chart 4

• Men show higher online activity than women, especially with youtube videos, downloading music, playing games and podcasts (chart 5).

Chart 5

• However, when it comes to Web 2.0 activities, even the smaller proportion of women who go online, seem to use the web for social networking and blogging as frequently as men (chart 6).

Chart 6

• Chart 7 outlines in detail, the types of blogs, men and women access in urban Guatemala.

Chart 7

Mobile Phone Activities

• Eighty five percent of men and 80 percent women have household access to a mobile phone. In addition, 87 percent of men, and 78 percent women used it in the previous month. Chart 7 and 8 show their mobile phone activities, illustrating that men are more likely to use many more functions on their phones. They are more likely to take pictures and share them, listen to music and play games on their mobile phones. In addition, when it comes to accessing other mediums such as the internet and radio, once again men seem to be better advantaged than women.

Chart 8

Chart 9

• Of respondents who did not have internet access on their mobile phones, close to half of both men and women said that their device was not advanced enough to be internet enabled. In addition, women were more likely than men (9 percent versus 15 percent) to cite expense as a restriction. On the other hand, a greater percentage of men than women were likely to state that they were not interested in having web access on their cell phones (24 percent men versus 15 percent women).

Radio Use Highlights

• FM frequency is the most popular for both genders, with 95 percent women and 98 percent men listening weekly. Convergence of mediums through activities such as listening to the radio on the internet, which is becoming more common in nations with greater connectivity, is yet to become very popular in urban Nicaragua. Stations on the MW/AM frequency are more popular with women (19 percent for women, 16 percent for men), but men seem to have greater access to radio listening in their cars (53 percent men versus 49 percent for women).