Does social media improve women's political empowerment in Africa?

Abstract

The use of social media has grown significantly in Africa over the past two decades and is the subject of recent literature. In this article, we examine its direct and indirect effects on women's political empowerment (WPE) in Africa. Based on a sample of 45 African countries, we specify and estimate a panel data model using the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) method and the System Generalized Method of Moment (S-GMM) over the period 2009–2019. Our results show that social media, as measured by the Facebook penetration rate, significantly increases WPE. Their effects are channeled through the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), electricity consumption, human capital and political stability. The robustness of the results is proven by alternative measures of WPE and social media. In order to strengthen WPE, public policies must increase women's access to social media.