Do Digitalization, Human Development, and Democracy Reduce Gender Inequality? Panel Evidence from Selected Asian Countries

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-709-5_72How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Digital Technology; Gender Inequality; Human Development; Democracy; Asia

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effects of digital technology adoption (Information and Communication Technology – ICT), human development (Human Development Index – HDI), democracy index, and population growth on gender inequality across 37 Asian countries. Using a Random Effect Model with panel data, the estimation results reveal that ICT has a negative and statistically significant effect on the Gender Inequality Index (GII), indicating that greater digital adoption correlates with lower levels of gender inequality. Broader digital access enables women to participate more actively in the digital economy, particularly through micro-enterprises, online trade, and creative industries. Furthermore, HDI also shows a negative and significant effect on GII, confirming that human development, especially through women’s education and health serves as a key determinant of gender equality. Meanwhile, the democracy index has a negative but statistically insignificant effect, suggesting that formal democracy does not necessarily translate into gender equality without strong institutions and affirmative policies. Population growth shows a positive but insignificant relationship, implying that demographic impacts are context-dependent and mediated by socio-economic factors. Overall, the findings emphasize that digital transformation and human development are fundamental drivers in reducing gender inequality in Asia. The study offers strategic policy implications for developing countries to strengthen digital inclusion, women’s education, and gender equality institutions in pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 – Gender Equality.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Nursini Nursini
AU  - Agussalim Agussalim
AU  - Sultan Suhab
AU  - Sri Undai Nurbayani
AU  - Randi Kurniawan
AU  - Rahmat Nurul Primanugraha
AU  - Andi Nur Ildha Arfanita
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/20
TI  - Do Digitalization, Human Development, and Democracy Reduce Gender Inequality? Panel Evidence from Selected Asian Countries
BT  - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Accounting, Management, and Economics (10th ICAME 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1052
EP  - 1065
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-709-5_72
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-709-5_72
ID  - Nursini2026
ER  -