Does the digital economy improve female autonomy?

Abstract

Based on China's long-term implementation of gender equality, the rapid development of the digital economy has provided new opportunities for improving female autonomy and releasing the “gender dividend”. This study explores the impact of the digital economy on female autonomy, using digital economy index we constructed and the 2014-2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. We find that the development of the digital economy can significantly improve female autonomy, both economically and spiritually. Meanwhile, the digital economy can also alleviate the “marriage penalty” and “motherhood penalty”. Furthermore, we find that digital economy's career guarantee effect and capital consolidation effect are important mechanisms, which can promote women's participation in employment, as well as enable them to have higher human capital and social capital.