The coming of the internet as the greatest information system promised a world of democracy and equality, where gender difference is ignored. However, this assumption could not be any further from reality. The truth of the matter is that gender inequality and differentiation exists largely in cyberspace, just as it does in real life. Primarily, this is because cyberspace is a male dominated environment, which presents serious consequences for women. These consequences include that women are somewhat excluded or denied access from the new information technologies, or when they do participate, they are bombarded with sexual discrimination, abuse and pornography (Spender, p190, 1995).
In terms of gender domination, cyberspace is undeniabley male territory. There are many explanations for the truth, however the obvious rationalization is that “men have more to do with computers, and spend more time on them than women� (Spender, 1995, p116). It is suggested that males have a greater interest in computers because they have many more opportunities to develop their skills when they are children. A study conducted in the UK, found that “six times as many boys as girls have computers bought for them� (Cole, Conlon, Jackson, Welch, 1994, p78). Not only are women less advantaged as children, the same trend continues in to their later lives. In a survey of the World Wide Web conducted by James Pitkow and Mimi Recker of Georgia Institute of Technology, 4700 people responded about their Internet use. 56% of users were between the ages of 21 and 30, and 94% of those were male (as cited in Carli, 2000, p27). Naturally, with figures as diverse as those, it is easy to understand why cyberspace is typically called male territory.
A principal reason for the lack of women’s participation in cyberspace can be attributed to the fact that women are often presented with many difficult barriers to overcome. These barriers can often result in denied access or exclusion from the new information technologies, and generally include the cost of purchasing a computer, training and time on the internet. On average, women have less money than men do and this difference can disadvantage them when they can’t get into the medium. (Wylie, 1995, p4) When women do eventually get past the initial barriers into cyberspace, they are often barred from electronic networks and other technological work. This occurs through the lack of training and employment opportunities for women. Cabrera- Balleza of Isis International, a non-government group that works on issues around women and communication, states “that while women are often found as data collectors or word processors, very few are employed in hardware design, leaving them at the bottom of the pile in the lucrative industry� and “This is a result of employers’ perceptions that women were unable to work long hours due to domestic responsibilities(as cited in IPS Correspondents, 2003, p2).
Women also have to deal with gender related discrimination in cyberspace, just as they do in real life. These problems exist in a broad sense of sexual harassment and pornography. In many cases women experience extremely sexist jokes, limericks, hostile comments, and numerous forms of pornography, which can be quite confronting for women. Not only do these problems provide a means for silencing women, it can also affect the attitudes of men towards women. Dale Spender (1995, p203) states that sexual harassment has often been referred to as “the systematic means of keeping women out of male territory- this is certainly the case in cyberspace."
The reality that cyberspace presents many gender inequality issues, is indeed a problem that needs to be resolved in the future. It is no revelation that women have just as much intellectual capacity and initiative as men to share the progress and development in new information technologies, however as long as they current problems of exclusion, denied access, sexual discrimination and pornography exist, the prospects of gender equality appear to be dismal.
Links to Wiki Sites
Virtual Communities:gender issues
Links to other online sources
Cyberspace is NOT a Gender free space
Carlie, Donald, (2000) A Designer’s Guide to the Internet, Step-by-step Graphics, (Peoria, I11), November-December, p.27
Cole, Anne; Colon, Tom; Jackson, Sylvia, Jackson; Welch, Dorothy (1994) Information Technology and Gender: Problems and Proposals, Gender and Education, 6, 1, p.78
IPS Correspondents (2003) Technology: Divided Opinions on the Digital Divide,
Global Information Network, New York, Jan 16, p.1
Spender, Dale (1995) Natterring on the Net: Women, Power and Cyberspace, Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, Chapter 7
Wylie, Margie (1995) No Place for women, Digital Media, 4, 8, January
Brooke Power 22:56, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
