78 \ Global Youth Development Index and Report 2016 3.7  Inequality in youth participation In developed countries, young people who are active in formal politics and protest movements tend to be more educated and empowered than others, leading to the further disenfranchisement of poor and uneducated youth.70 In contrast, in Asia, where the young tend to be much better educated than older citizens, neither education nor income explains variations in voting patterns.71 In Asia it has been suggested that there are cultural factors that help explain the lack of an association between education and voting with tradition dictating that young people should focus on their education, leaving politics to older people.72 Women are often under-represented in formal and informal politics, especially in traditional societies and developing countries.73 In many developing countries where women are usually less educated and economically independent than men, visible female participation in public affairs is relatively low. By contrast, young women engage in much greater proportion in behind-the-scenes or less visible forms of participation, such as voting.74 The impact of social media on these trends is difficult to discern, but women are more likely to be at the receiving end of abusive messages, threats and misogyny.75 A study in Tanzania found that females are less confident than males that their participation in political activities could make a positive difference to their lives.76 Social class and income also influence levels of political involvement. The very poorest may understandably focus on survival rather than concerning themselves with trying to influence national agendas.77 In Africa, where at least seven out of ten young people live on less than US $2 a day, young people may be forced sell their vote, even though they regard vote rigging as morally repugnant.78 Digital technology is helping people connect with each other in different ways and clearly the young are more engaged with digital media than older people. Countries are already exploring the ways in which young people could be encouraged to participate in voting through their mobile phones. But such initiatives also run the risk of increasing the ‘digital divide’, whereby those without access to digital tools may find it even more difficult to participate than they already do. Almost 60 per cent of the world’s population still does not have access to the internet and less than 20 per cent have access to high-speed broadband.79 Other critical factors such as gender and income continue to affect access to and use of ICT. No wonder many are worried that ICTs may end up exacerbating rather than reducing inequalities within the youth population.80 3.8 Improving youth participation: the policy response Changing youth aspirations and structural shifts in demographic and economic trends are forcing governments and political parties to engage with young people in new and sometimes ingenious ways. The motivations of governments and policymakers to encourage the participation of young people in formal political processes may vary. Sometimes it stems from a genuine concern to ensure all sections of the electorate have a voice, sometimes the political class sees young people as a growing and attractive vote bank, and sometimes there is a desire to prevent young people’s frustrations morphing into organised or violent protests. There is a range of ways in which governments and political parties attempt to increase youth participation, some of which are more effective than others. In some countries, governments launch campaigns to revive young people’s interest in electoral politics.81 For example: in Azerbaijan, the government runs awareness campaigns targeted at first-time young voters. In the UK and USA, politicians often enlist the services of pop stars in order to try and increase their appeal to younger members of the electorate. In India, the world’s largest democracy and a country where nearly twothirds of the population is younger than 35, political parties are reaching out to young people through social media and by enlisting the services of youthful celebrities such as sporting heroes and film stars. In several countries, governments have made voting in elections compulsory. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a global intergovernmental organisation that promotes democracy, lists 26 countries, mostly Latin American, that currently have mandatory voting in place. Some of these countries even impose sanctions on voters who fail to cast their ballot. For example, in Brazil and Peru, abstaining voters are barred from accessing some public services and they may have to pay fines, too. In Australia and Singapore, those who do not vote are fined, and in Singapore also have their names removed from the electoral list. Soldiers, illiterate people and the elderly are often excluded from this rule in most countries.82