The EQUALS Global Partnership launched its 2025 Research Report, titled “Evidence to Impact: Advancing Gender Empowerment in the Digital Age,” at the WSIS Forum 2025. The report focuses on providing fresh global insights into gender and digital transformation, and emphasizes the urgent need for gender-inclusive digital development. The report is the result of a collective effort to advance the global conversation on digital gender equality, featuring exploratory research, case studies, and evidence-based initiatives from EQUALS partners worldwide. The EQUALS Research Report 2025 is organized into four thematic sections: Digital Skills, Digital Inclusion and Education, Digital Economy, and AI and Cybersecurity. This report serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking the most up-to-date evidence and tools for closing the gender digital divide across multiple levels. 
The EQUALS Global Partnership launched its 2025 Research Report, titled “Evidence to Impact: Advancing Gender Empowerment in the Digital Age,” at the WSIS Forum 2025. The report focuses on providing fresh global insights into gender and digital transformation, and emphasizes the urgent need for gender-inclusive digital development. The report is the result of a collective effort to advance the global conversation on digital gender equality, featuring exploratory research, case studies, and evidence-based initiatives from EQUALS partners worldwide. The EQUALS Research Report 2025 is organized into four thematic sections: Digital Skills, Digital Inclusion and Education, Digital Economy, and AI and Cybersecurity. This report serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking the most up-to-date evidence and tools for closing the gender digital divide across multiple levels.
This working paper explores the effect of gender on the likelihood of internet access and the likelihood of possessing digital skills capabilities among Indians and Sri Lankans, based on nationally representative survey data from 2021. An updated version of this paper will be published in the 2024 EQUALS Research Report. The supplementary tables for this report chapter can be accessed here.
The technological advancements of the recent decades, including the expansion of the gig economy have given rise to increasing numbers of opportunities for flexible work for both men and women across the globe. Opportunities range from ridesharing to online freelancing to running home-based businesses with the help of social media and logistics platforms. The growth in opportunities for digital work have expanded considerably after the advent of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Flexible work arrangements – such as those offered by the gig economy—have long been argued as an enabler of women’s increased and sustained participation in the labour market. This is particularly pertinent for countries like Sri Lanka, which have tussled with low female labour force participation (LFP) rates over the years.
We know from our previous qualitative work that women see online work and the flexibility it entails as a way to earn their own income while balancing childcare and other domestic responsibilities. However, many barriers and challenges remain to women’s participation in the online workplace, including gender gaps in internet connectivity and digital skills, as well as constraining social norms. To better understand women’s engagement with the ecosystem of digitally enabled work, between 2020 and 2023 we conducted further qualitative research in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research, India, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and World Resources Institute, India, and. The research aimed to assess the ecosystem within which women are engaging with digital work in India and Sri Lanka and the kind of impact that online platforms can create for women’s economic empowerment in order to inform updated labour market regulation and business practices. The final project report can be found below.
Ramathi Bandaranayake presented the following paper at the 3rd International Conference on Gender Research, held July 16 – 17 2020. The conference took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper discusses the findings of our qualitative research related to female online freelancers in India and Sri Lanka. Bandaranayake, R., Iqbal, T.
Presented by Helani Galpaya, Ayesha Zainudeen and Tharaka Amarasinghe on 22 May 2019 in Colombo, Sri Lanka
AfterAccess: ICT access and use in Asia and the Global South (Version 3.0)
Presented at "Imagine a Feminist Internet: South Asia" on 21 February 2019 in Negombo, Sri Lanka
Presented by Gayani Hurulle at Myanmar Digital Rights Forum. 18 January 2019, Yangon.
Presented by Helani Galpaya (@helanigalpaya), CEO, LIRNEasia and Tharaka Amarasinghe (@tharaka89), Research Manager, LIRNEasia on 4 October 2018 in Kathmandu, Nepal
LIRNEasia. (2018). AfterAccess: ICT access and use in Asia and the Global South (Version 1). Colombo: LIRNEasia
Presented by Helani Galpaya and Tharaka Amarasinghe on 2 October 2018 in Dhaka, Bangladesh
LIRNEasia. (2018). AfterAccess India: ICT access and use in India and the Global South (Version 1).
Colombo: LIRNEasia
Ranjula Senaratna Perera CRPsouth2013 Mysore, India