The highlands of Chiapas show how poverty, language and limited infrastructure combine to deepen a digital divide across generations. CONEVAL reports 74.2 percent of the population in poverty and 46.5 percent in extreme poverty. Women’s participation in the formal workforce is only 31 percent versus a national average of 45 percent; most women work informally in subsistence agriculture or small-scale vending and earn around MXN 5,200 a month (about USD 260) without benefits or job security.
Educational and digital barriers are both practical and cultural. Statewide illiteracy rates are about 16–17 percent and rise to 25–30 percent among Indigenous women. About 28 percent of residents speak Indigenous languages such as Tzotzil, Tzeltal and Chol, yet most resources are in Spanish, which can alienate students from their cultural roots. Digital access is limited: roughly 35 percent of rural households have internet compared with 75 percent in urban areas. Many community centers use outdated desktop computers, face intermittent electricity and sometimes rely on solar panels; in some villages one computer serves 20 or more students.
Violence further restricts participation. The Feminist Observatory recorded 197 violent deaths of women in Chiapas in 2024, 63 of them confirmed femicides, and such threats reduce girls’ safe access to school and after-school programs. Still, targeted programs show measurable gains: the Low-Tech Program (supported by UNICEF) provides mobile-friendly lesson plans; Tecnolochicas introduces girls aged 12–17 to coding, robotics and STEM and raises digital skills by 60 percent while framing projects from web design to AI with a gender perspective; and a government effort led by the Secretary of Public Education will translate 180 new textbooks into 20 Indigenous languages.
Girls trained in technology are already using skills for social change: they build websites for women’s collectives, run social media campaigns against domestic violence and analyze femicide data for grassroots advocacy. World Bank studies indicate that sustained investment in rural digital education could cut illiteracy in Chiapas by 10 percent within a decade. Without long-term funding and policy support, poverty and gender violence may continue to limit opportunities. The future depends on creating safe, funded spaces where women can learn, share knowledge and shape their communities, and on programs that combine empathy with concrete support.
Difficult words
- digital divide — gap in access to internet and computing devices
- subsistence — farming that produces food mainly for family needs
- illiteracy — lack of ability to read and write
- indigenous — relating to original peoples of a region
- outdated — old and no longer modern or useful
- intermittent — starting and stopping; not continuous over time
- femicide — killing of a woman because she is femalefemicides
- advocacy — public support or actions to help a cause
- investment — money or resources put in for future benefit
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How could translating textbooks into Indigenous languages affect students and their communities?
- What are the main barriers that stop girls in Chiapas from accessing digital education, and which solutions seem most important?
- How can programs combine empathy with concrete support to create safe, funded learning spaces for women and girls?
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