The gender digital gap: shifting the theoretical focus to systems analysis and feedback loops

IF 4.2 1区文学 Q1 COMMUNICATION

Information Communication & Society Pub Date : 2022-04-25 DOI:10.1080/1369118X.2022.2069507

Raluca David, Toby Phillips

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

ABSTRACT The past decades have seen efforts to increase digital inclusion for women worldwide, with the ultimate aim to advance gender equality. However, progress is slow, despite important advances in moving beyond a focus on ‘digital access’ (as measured by network coverage and hardware) towards a more holistic understanding of inclusion that considers abilities, awareness and agency. Here, we propose a further theoretical shift that draws on social system theories (e.g., Luhmann, 1984) and on the theory of ‘intersecting inequalities’ (Kabeer, 2010). We propose to understand the gender digital gap, particularly in mobile and internet usage, not merely descriptively but dynamically – since even factors like agency and awareness change over time – by applying concepts of feedback loops, low-equilibrium traps, multi-dimensional exclusion and systems analysis. This paper highlights how women may become locked in a state of low-inclusion unless the feedback loops between digital, social, economic and political exclusion are addressed through policies that tackle multiple dimensions. The paper reviews research on gender digital gaps with particular focus on developing countries, and with direct implications for policy-making.

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性别数字差距：将理论重点转移到系统分析和反馈回路

摘要在过去的几十年里，世界各地都在努力提高女性的数字包容性，最终目的是促进性别平等。然而，尽管在从关注“数字接入”（以网络覆盖率和硬件衡量）转向更全面地理解包容（考虑能力、意识和机构）方面取得了重要进展，但进展缓慢。在这里，我们提出了进一步的理论转变，借鉴了社会系统理论（例如，Luhmann，1984）和“交叉不平等”理论（Kabeer，2010）。我们建议通过应用反馈回路、低平衡陷阱、多维排斥和系统分析的概念，不仅从描述性的角度，而且从动态的角度来理解性别数字差距，特别是在移动和互联网使用方面，因为即使是代理和意识等因素也会随着时间的推移而变化。本文强调，除非通过解决多个层面的政策来解决数字、社会、经济和政治排斥之间的反馈回路，否则女性可能会陷入低包容性状态。本文回顾了关于性别数字差距的研究，特别关注发展中国家，并对政策制定有直接影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Information Communication & Society Multiple-

CiteScore

10.20

自引率

4.80%

发文量

110

期刊介绍： Drawing together the most current work upon the social, economic, and cultural impact of the emerging properties of the new information and communications technologies, this journal positions itself at the centre of contemporary debates about the information age. Information, Communication & Society (iCS) transcends cultural and geographical boundaries as it explores a diverse range of issues relating to the development and application of information and communications technologies (ICTs), asking such questions as: -What are the new and evolving forms of social software? What direction will these forms take? -ICTs facilitating globalization and how might this affect conceptions of local identity, ethnic differences, and regional sub-cultures? -Are ICTs leading to an age of electronic surveillance and social control? What are the implications for policing criminal activity, citizen privacy and public expression? -How are ICTs affecting daily life and social structures such as the family, work and organization, commerce and business, education, health care, and leisure activities? -To what extent do the virtual worlds constructed using ICTs impact on the construction of objects, spaces, and entities in the material world? iCS analyses such questions from a global, interdisciplinary perspective in contributions of the very highest quality from scholars and practitioners in the social sciences, gender and cultural studies, communication and media studies, as well as in the information and computer sciences.