Digital exclusion is rooted in the oppression of minoritised groups. It makes poverty worse and denies people equitable access to services and opportunities.
This is the first in a series of articles sharing evidence of how technology harms people and the Earth. Most of the evidence cited is less than 24 months old.
Future articles will share evidence of how technology causes and exacerbates other issues.
Why we are writing about digital exclusion
We’ve written a lot about tech justice, centring communities and why DEI isn’t the solution. But we’ve not written enough about how our capitalist, patriarchal system excludes people from technology’s benefits. Nor the harmful impact of being excluded.
Digital exclusion is caused by systemic injustice
Digital exclusion is a systemic injustice rooted in oppression and inequality. Minoritised groups are denied equitable access to technology. Women, people of the global majority, and those in poverty are most excluded.
This perpetuates cycles of discrimination and economic disparity. Biased systems, inaccessible education, and unaffordable resources deepen this divide. This is not just exclusion - it’s the deliberate reinforcement of oppressive structures.
What we mean by exclusion, discrimination, injustice and oppression
Let’s explore how these differ, using some examples. To make the examples easier to compare we have used the same group (Black women) for each one. There are many other groups who experience exclusion, discrimination, injustice and oppression.
Exclusion
Exclusion is what happens when people are left out or minoritised. Exclusion prevents them from accessing the same opportunities as others. Usually this is because of lack of digital skills, devices or data.
For example, lack of internet access prevents people from accessing digital health services.
Discrimination
Discrimination happens when people are treated unfairly because of their group or characteristics. People, systems and digital tools can all discriminate unfairly. Discrimination leads to exclusion and minoritisation.
For example, Black women face cultural stereotyping when applying for jobs. They get clustered into low-paid sectors such as hotels, restaurants, and distribution industries. This makes it harder for them to afford devices or learn digital skills. Digital exclusion is the result.
Injustice
Injustice happens when people experience violations of fairness, equity, or moral principles. Often it results in unfair treatment or the denial of their rights. People and systems can both act in unjust ways.
For example, a Black woman has the skills and experience for a new job or promotion. But they are turned down due to their ethnicity. This entrenches poverty, a cause and symptom of digital exclusion.
Oppression
Oppression happens when a dominant group or individual uses power to systematically control, exploit and marginalise others. Oppression can be rooted in systemic structures such as laws, institutions, or cultural norms. These perpetuate inequity.
For example, Black women are oppressed by systemic racism, misogynoir and patriarchal systems. This makes it harder to find a new job and participate in society. Opportunities to grow digital skills and the ability to afford devices reduce.
An unjust system
In this way digital exclusion begins in an unjust system. A system that oppresses people. That denies them equitable access to skills, devices and data. That in turn denies them access to essential health, economic and financial services.
Let’s look at the evidence for the scale and causes of digital exclusion.
1. Evidence: 10 million adults lack basic digital skills
“In the UK today, around 10.2 million adults (20%) are unable to complete all eight of the Foundation tasks needed to set someone up for using the online world.”
“2.4m people are still unable to complete a single basic digital task to get online.” - Digital exclusion, Communications and Digital Committee, 2023
“25% of people with a disability or health condition lack basic digital skills” - Bridging the digital divide: Tackling tech poverty for an equitable future
Lack of digital skills excludes people from society
If you lack digital skills you can’t participate in society in the same way others can. Lack of skills excludes you from essential healthcare, financial and social services. The system discriminates against you.
"The government’s drive to digitalise essential services appears to be coming with a costly social bill for some disadvantaged minority ethnic individuals who already experience inequalities in both access to and outcomes of essential services. Digital poverty, digital literacy and inadequate language support present particular difficulties for these communities. If digitalisation is not to entrench and exacerbate existing inequalities, these concerns must be urgently addressed by both policy makers and service providers." - Digital Poverty Alliance, Sept 2023
Access to opportunities to learn digital skills is inequitable and unjust
“Everything in life is now dependent upon having access to these essential digital skills” - Hugo Drayton, Chair of Citizens Online (143)
In 2020 the government established a statutory right for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications up to level 1 free of charge (Digital Entitlement in 2020). Despite this, access to learning opportunities is still not equitable. It is “unlikely to meet the needs of a diverse range of digitally excluded people” (Good Things Foundation (151)) and is “failing… people; it is a bit ‘Tick, done that. Off it goes’ … but it is not working and no one is asking why.” (Para 152, Paper 219)
Gaining digital skills isn’t straightforward. You need a device, data and help. For example, if you're blind, living in poverty, or lack a local library you don’t have equity of opportunity. Even though there is a statutory right, the system fails to account for this. It's unjust.
“Millions of people still lack the most basic digital skills for work and life. This problem affects a range of age groups. Addressing it should be a Government priority but there is insufficient leadership to make this happen.” - Paper 219 (148)
Lack of government leadership to tackle digital exclusion
“Five million workers are under-skilled in digital and nearly two and half million people still can’t complete a single basic digital task…
…we have found a distinct lack of leadership in Government to tackle this issue. It is shocking that a digital inclusion strategy has not been produced since 2014 and the Government sees no need for a new one. It is vital we get a grip of this now.” Baroness Stowell of Beeston, Digital exclusion report, Communications and Digital Committee, 2023
2. Evidence: 1.7m households have no broadband or mobile internet access
Source: Digital exclusion report, Communications and Digital Committee, 2023
Poverty makes internet access harder to afford. Access to community internet points (e.g. libraries) is not equitable.
“It is estimated that 1.6 million people in the UK currently live offline, meaning they lack the devices, connection or skills to get online” - Think Digital
“Even as millions have seized the opportunities that the online world offers, millions more have been left behind. Some are forced to ration their data. Others can only access the internet at trusted community hubs or with the help of friends and family, because they lack trust and confidence or struggle to obtain and maintain digital skills in a rapidly changing world.” - Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps, February 2025
In February 2025 the new government announced the new Digital Inclusion Action Plan.
3. Evidence: Women in global majority communities suffer most through digital exclusion
Source: Al Jazeera’s: Excluded: How women suffer from digital poverty in the UK, 2021
Digital exclusion creates and is caused by economic and social disadvantages.
59 percent of “internet non-users” in 2020 (1.97 million people) in the UK are women (ONS). This is a segment of the population that has never gone online. A further 1.5 million women had not used the internet for at least three months at the time the survey was conducted.
“There are several key barriers impeding the online presence of women. These include lack of access … due to inability to pay for devices or their running costs; digital illiteracy related to their level of education; lack of opportunities to use or be involved with these technologies; and fear for their safety and of discrimination.” - Dr Amizan Omar, an Associate Professor at the School of Management at the University of Bradford. In Al Jazeera’s: Excluded: How women suffer from digital poverty in the UK, 2021
Poverty exacerbates digital exclusion
Black women are 1.7 times more likely to be on low pay than white men (Living Wage Foundation).
1 in 8 Black women working in the UK are employed in insecure jobs compared to 1 in 16 white women (TUC).
"It’s an expense, you know? Owning a device, having the knowledge to use it well. Women make less money, so do ethnic minorities. That’s why you hear about so many women going to libraries to use the internet. It’s because they can’t afford it at home." - Gloria, 66, London in Al Jazeera’s: Excluded: How women suffer from digital poverty in the UK, 2021
4. Evidence: Digital exclusion exacerbates poverty
“Those who cannot use digital technologies are likely to have fewer job opportunities, pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances.” - Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps, February 2025
20% of children across the UK are digitally excluded
They lack access to an electronic device, broadband connectivity or digital skills.
Source: Digital Poverty in the UK (Deloitte & Digital Poverty Alliance, Sept 2023)
This limits their ability to complete homework or engage in online learning. This educational gap perpetuates cycles of poverty. It reduces future opportunities for these children to succeed academically and professionally.
82% of jobs require essential digital skills. 10.2 million adults don’t have these skills.
This disparity excludes 10.2 million individuals from higher-paying roles. It restricts their career advancement, trapping them in low-income positions. The shift toward online job applications and remote work exacerbates this divide. Minoritised communities who don’t have these skills are disproportionately affected.
- 7.5 million working age adults lack basic digital skills for work.
- 3.7 million families are below the minimum digital living standard.
- 4% of people are offline, which is around 2.1 million people, with 15% of these being under 50 years old.
- 26% of young people do not have access to a laptop or similar device.
Source: Bridging the digital divide: Tackling tech poverty for an equitable future (March 2025, Capita)
Oppressive algorithms deny equitable access to economic resources and opportunities
Emerging technologies, such as AI, often rely on biased datasets. These datasets disproportionately disadvantage minoritised groups. For example, algorithms used in hiring, credit scoring, or public services. They exacerbate existing inequalities by underserving racial minorities or low-income individuals. This systemic bias excludes people from opportunities and exacerbates poverty.
“There is now an overwhelming body of research demonstrating how the growing reliance on AI and automated systems has increased poverty, inequity, discrimination and marginalisation.” - Can technology really end poverty?, Transforming Society, June 2024
“The growing use of machine learning in public and private sector services will further disadvantage digitally excluded groups, who are often poorly represented in datasets and are likely to face further marginalisation as a result” - Digital exclusion report
Recruitment discrimination
“Various examples of algorithmic bias in recruitment systems are becoming apparent, although there are relatively few studies which have assessed the extent of this bias empirically” Bias in Algorithmic Decision-Making, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, July 2019
Welfare discrimination
“Our welfare data investigation has uncovered councils using hidden algorithms that are secretive, unevidenced, incredibly invasive and likely discriminatory. The scale of the profiling, mass data gathering and digital surveillance that millions of people are unwittingly subjected to is truly shocking. We are deeply concerned that these risk scoring algorithms could be disadvantaging and discriminating against Britain’s poor. Unless authorities are transparent and better respect privacy and equality rights, their adoption of these technologies is a one way ticket to a poverty panopticon.” - Jake Hurfurt, Head of Research and Investigations at Big Brother Watch in Poverty Panopticon: the hidden algorithms shaping Britain’s welfare state (July, 2021)
We must act
Digital exclusion is a powerful tool of oppression. It denies minoritised groups equitable access to technology and perpetuates injustice. It entrenches poverty, limits opportunities, and reinforces societal injustice. To challenge these oppressive systems and build a fairer future, we must act.
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