Internet Use, Gender and

The Internet Gender Gap

Access to information and communications technology (ICT) in the information society of today's world has a considerable influence on the extent to which people are integrated into their social and professional settings and are active participants (both generally and commercially) in society. The fact that there are still many groups of people without access to the Internet, the “information have-nots” in contrast to the “information haves” who do have access, is known as the digital divide. Internationally, the divide is between the more technically and economically developed countries and the less so—for example, many in Africa are on the “wrong” side of the divide. Within any one country, some sections of the population are digitally underprivileged, such as the children of families of low socioeconomic status. Gender is also a feature of the digital divide. The expression gender gap denotes the phenomenon whereby girls and women in many countries have less access to the Internet than do boys and men.

Data from a representative survey carried out in 2002 and 2003 and reported by the University of California at Los Angeles in 2005 indicated an average gender gap, in favor of the male population, of 8% across the 12 countries selected. There were great variations between countries: The gender gap in Internet access was as high as 20% in Italy (men: 42%; women: 22%) and as low as 1% in Taiwan (men: 25%, women: 24%). In the United States, 73% of men used the Internet, compared to 69% of women. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an international organization within the United Nations system, likewise collects data on global access to the Internet and records the national gender gaps. The Internet gender gap is particularly serious when the lack of access is not only to online activity but also to the (usually well-paid) jobs and careers associated with the Internet and telecommunications generally.

[Page 439]There are many reasons for the Internet gender gap. The masculine gender role is a better match than the feminine one to the taking of an interest in new technology, its appreciation, and its voluntary exploration. Boys and men acquire computer and Internet skills sooner in training and at work than do women, who reveal more negative attitudes and anxieties about new technology. Boys are more likely than girls to have computers of their own. Computer and Internet courses specifically targeted at girls and women are intended to encourage them to make use of the Internet. However, it should not be forgotten that, in many countries, the Internet (no longer seen merely as a techno-toy for male computer freaks) is now appreciated by the general public as an everyday communications tool to such an extent that girls, in particular, are making free with it.

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