Gender differences in men's and women's behavior have always existed. Technological advances have brought many changes to our daily lives. Has unrestricted access to information mitigated gender differences?
About two-thirds of the 6,403 adults surveyed by Pew in 2005 said they use the Internet. Since 2005, the number of Internet users by gender has changed. Young women are more likely to be online than young men and black women have surged online in the last three years.
What about sociability?
Internet service providers drew attention to the fact that women are more likely to use the Internet for communication purposes than men. They are also more likely to use it to send and
receive emails, get maps and directions, look for health and medical information, use websites to support health or personal problems, and get spiritual information.
Women are more likely than men to use email to stay in touch with friends and family, share news, plan events, and share entertaining content. In emailers’ working life, women are more likely than men to value the positive effects of email for improving teamwork. Women also see emails as a kind of positive, water-cooler effect that lightens the atmosphere of office life.
How female users tend to use the benefits of Internet access
The Internet and digital technologies open a world of opportunities for all users, bringing particular benefits to women. Among them are:
Health and Safety.
Advocacy and awareness.
Income and employment.
Representation and leadership.
The Internet makes healthcare information access easier for women in remote and underdeveloped areas, where medical facilities are few and far between. For instance, access to prenatal checkups can decrease maternal mortality rates. In countries that often face such issues as human rights violations and domestic violence, women form female communities that work on shedding light on the problems that are typically silenced and provide psychological help to women in need.
Furthermore, digitalization helps women expand their economic opportunities. Research shows that when women in developing countries gain Internet access, 30 percent use it to earn additional income, 45 percent for job hunting, and 80 percent for education.
However, gender gaps persist at all levels of the ICT sector, from programming to leadership. Women make up less than 20 percent of the field. When women are not represented in the tech workforce, their voices are not heard regarding decisions regarding Internet use, social media, and tech products. Free female access to Internet technologies can change the situation in the labor and tech markets in the long run.
Women are less likely to have a high-speed connection
In 2005, fewer women, 48%, than men, 52%, said they had high-speed internet connections at their homes, a small but statistically significant difference. At work, a greater overall % of female users, 74%, say they have high-speed connections, although 11% said they either do not know the answer or refuse to answer.
Access to information and communication channels empowers women. In 13 countries, women access the Internet more than men. However, this figure represents only one-fifth of countries with data — in most of the world, women are less likely to be internet users regardless of a country's region or income group. The reasons for this are varied: education gaps, lower income, and cultural norms can all contribute to keeping women offline.
To be offline today means missing out on learning and earning, accessing valuable services, and participating in democratic public debate. The digital divide between people who have internet access and those who do not could deepen existing gender inequalities, pushing women further to the margins of society.
How can we make Internet access more available to female users?
Today, women continue to represent the minority of users with stable Internet access. The coronavirus only exacerbates this situation.
A number of these reasons include geographic parameters, economic components, and even cultural aspects. Thus, women in countries with internal radical politics may not have sufficient access to Internet resources. Besides, the coronavirus is increasing domestic violence. Therefore, a woman who lives with an abusive person can easily fall into a dependent position and not receive proper help.
Free Wi-Fi hotspots could partially solve this problem. As a rule, they are offered services that give access to data through crowdsourcing technologies. Today, the companies that provide such services operate practically worldwide. For example, the WiFi Map platform offers access to free Wi-Fi points. Also, it gives its users secure VPN services that allow women to receive up-to-date information from all over the world, which, for some reason, is blocked in the country where they are located. The app also helps to track Internet connection speed, which, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, is often slower among female users than males.
Some businesses are offering free solutions to help people with their digital needs during the pandemic. Among them are Comcast, AT&T, Charter Communications, and Verizon.
Provided solutions could significantly help female users with their digital needs.