Drivers, Limiters and Barriers to Women’s Trust in Digital Platforms

Our Focus

Digital trust is the confidence people have in using products and services in the digital world. Digital trust encompasses elements of privacy, security, reliability and data ethics that people need to meaningfully use online programs and devices. Building trust is central to building a digital economy and defines trust as a composite of four metrics – digital environment (laws, regulations and practices on privacy and security), user experience (quality of infrastructure, ability to and quality of access), user attitudes (perceptions of trust in the digital economy) and finally, user behaviour (the level of engagement with the digital environment). It is hypothesized that trust is reduced if there are frictions in the interaction between consumers and providers. Other research suggests that digital trust must encompass ethics and responsibility of technology, levels of privacy and ability to control data, transparency and accountability of products/services and, security and reliability.

In India people, people have a high tolerance for frictions and high levels of trust in the government in general, therefore, the lack of security, accountability and privacy does not impact digital trust. However, in time, trust will be weakened because of incidents such as data leaks, misuse of information and the overall inequity of the data economy where people suffer harm and cannot extract value from their digital lives. The weakening will not only impact the ability of the private sector to deliver goods and services to consumers but also the government in reaching out to citizens meaningfully. This is especially critical in India where the government has invested in large-scale digital public infrastructure such as identity (Aadhaar), payments (UPI), credit (OCEN) etc. This infrastructure enables access to government and private services in healthcare, finance, agriculture, education, livelihood and access to a range of entitlements. Trust plays a key role in enabling and hampering its access and use.

The gendered digital divide in India is well documented. The gendered digital divide is often born out of a triple disadvantage for women in India. First, there is a rural-urban digital divide, such that rural broadband penetration is only 29 percent against a national average of 51 percent. Second, there is an income-based digital divide between households. And finally, intra-household discrimination prevents women from equitably accessing digital devices within the domestic sphere, which in turn widens the gender-based digital divide. While 43 percent of Indian men own a cell phone, women lag behind with only 28 percent mobile ownership. The gender gap in mobile ownership – estimated at about 114 million – reinforces the fact of unequal access.

Digital trust is a combination of several factors which may be experienced and perceived differently by different demographics – gender, income groups, age groups and geographical areas. This means the response to address digital trust will also be multifaceted and will have to include policy, regulation, design and governance solutions implemented by the government, private sector, civil society and communities themselves. By understanding digital trust better, we can make sure that digitisation is secure, efficient and predictable for all.

Objectives

The overall goal of the study was to identify and analyse Drivers, Limiters, and Barriers to Women’s Trust in Digital Platforms. The study is divided into three phases and specific objectives of each face are:

Phase 1

1. Understand the contours of digital trust (include vulnerability, threats, best/worst case scenarios, key actors) among different citizen groups with a focus on women
2. Identify solutions to enhance trust for different citizen groups, and taxonomise them to reflect policy, design, implementation, behavioural, governance solutions
3. Develop strategies for implementation of core set of solutions to enhance digital trust for stakeholders such as government, private sector, civil society and philanthropies

Phase 2

1. Conduct consultations with experts to synethsize recommendations and identify further areas for exploration and implementation
2. Explore possibilities of community-based governance mechanisms to enhance trust
3. especially for women

Phase 3

1. Shortlist 1-2 approaches to enhance digital trust
2. Codesign solutions with community to test, refine and build roadmaps for implementation

 Geographical spread

The study will be conducted in the four states namely Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh

Key components

The study was conducted in three phases with specific outputs at each stage. A wide range of participatory research methods which generate quantitative and qualitative data from primary and secondary sources will be used to secure critical reflections on digital trust among women from various sections of the society.

Key outputs

• Complete digital trust matrix - Complete digital trust matrix for 18 personas to map persona specific vulnerability, needs, best/worst case scenarios and solutions
• Report on digital trust in India - Comprehensive report on user-centric views on digital trust,

focused on women’s experiences with trust

• Solutions brief - Recommendations for enhancing digital trust for stakeholders such as government, philanthropies, private sector and civil society
• Digital trust assessment framework – A tool drawn from insights from participative research and Human Centered Design (HCD), to help organisations/government understand digital trust, and assess communities prior to implementation of programs

Year/period

24 Months (January 2023 to December 2024)

Client

The study will be conducted in partnership with AAPTI Institute, Bengaluru and supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).