THE DIGITAL GENDER DIVIDE: AN OVERVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2019vol5.3849Keywords:
gender occupations, digital gender divide, women’s inclusion, women’s empowerment, digital educationAbstract
It has been observed that women, especially in developing countries, have significantly lower technology participation rates than men. This is generally considered to be the result of socio-cultural attitudes related to the expected role of women in society. The consequence is the low percentage of women working in the high-tech industry. However, nowadays, women make ample use of internet technology and access social media just as much as men.
This article will explore the issue of the digital gender divide, focusing on which factors can impede and/or facilitate access to and use of digital technologies. It represents the preliminary results of an ongoing research conducted within a bilateral project entitled “Gender aspects of digital readiness and development of human capital” that involves the Latgalian region in Latvia and the Ternopil region in Ukraine, two regions that share similar socio-economic problems.
The aim of the research is to increase the level of women’s inclusion in the labor market of the future, which itappears will be increasingly dominated by digital technologies. From this perspective, reducing the digital divide is crucial, but alternative forms of digital education will need to be introducedin order to facilitate the acquisition of digital competences.
Downloads
References
Abraham, A. (2016). Gender and creativity: an overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature. Brain imaging and behavior, 10(2), 609-618.
Baer, J., & Kaufman, J.C. (2008). Gender differences in creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 42, 75–105.
BASNET project (2007), Women in Sciences and High Technology in the Baltic States: Problems and Solutions, FP6 BASNET Project Results. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/15343608/IN_THE_BALTIC_STATES_PROBLEMS_AND_SOLUTIONS.
Beede, D.N., Julian, T.A., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B., & Doms, M.E. (2011). Women in STEM: A gender gap to innovation, U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration, issue 4.
EIGE (European Institution of Gender Equality) (2018). Gender Equality Index 2017: Latvia. Retrieved from https://eige.europa.eu/rdc/eige-publications/gender-equality-index-2017-latvia.
European Commission (2015). She figures 2015, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.
European Commission (2018). Education and Training Monitor 2018. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/document-library-docs/et-monitor-report-2018-latvia_en.pdf.
Grimson, J., & Grimson, W. (2019). Eliminating Gender Inequality in Engineering, Industry, and Academia. In The Engineering-Business Nexus (315-339). Springer, Cham.
Hill, C., Corbett, C., & St. Rose, A. (2010). Why so few? Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. American Association of University Women.
International Labour Office (ILO). (2016). Women at work: Trends 2016. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization.
Lafont, S. (2001). One step forward, two steps back: women in the post-communist states. Communist and post-communist studies, 34(2), 203-220.
Marzano, G. (2017). A preliminary analysis of social innovation in Italy and Latvia, Problemy Polityki Społecznej, 39(4), 41-53.
Mavriplis, C., Heller, R., Beil, C., Dam, K., Yassinskaya, N., Shaw, M., & Sorensen, C. (2010). Mind the gap: Women in STEM career breaks. Journal of technology management & innovation, 5(1), 140-151.
Oganisjana, K., Eremina, Y., Gvatua, S., Kabwende, B.N., & Chukwu, O.J. (2017). Barriers to social innovation and ways of overcoming them in Latvia. Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, 15(5), 33-38.
Proudfoot, D., Kay, A.C., & Koval, C.Z. (2015). A gender bias in the attribution of creativity: Archival and experimental evidence for the perceived association between masculinity and creative thinking. Psychological Science, 26(11), 1751-1761.
Shapiro, J.R., & Williams, A.M. (2012). The role of stereotype threats in undermining girls’ and women’s performance and interest in STEM fields. Sex Roles, 66(3-4), 175-183.
Sinno, S., Schuette, C., & Killen, M. (2014). Developmental social cognition about gender roles in the family and societal context. In Leman, P.J., & Tenenbaum, H. (Eds.) Gender and development. Psychology Press. 133-154.
Verbick, T. (2002). Women, technology, and gender bias. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 17(3), 240-250.
Women Political Leaders Global Forum (2015). Lessons from Latvia: Women in Leadership, Retrieved from https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/event/lessons-latvia-women-leadership/.
Wood, W., & Eagly, A.H. (2012). Biosocial construction of sex differences and similarities in behavior. In Olson, J.M., &Zanna, M.P. (Eds.) Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 46). Academic Press, 55-123.
Wordpress.org (March 26, 2012). Women in the World Summit. Retrieved from https://www.worldpress.org/Americas/3896.cfm
