The Relative effect of Information & Communication Technology on Gender Inequality

Authors

1 Faculty Member, Virtual Space Research Center

2 Faculty Member, Tarbiat Modarres University

Abstract

During the past two decades the Information and Communication Technology (lCT) capabilities in gender inequality reduction have been greatly emphasized in the manner that such capabilities led to a common sense hypothesis that ICT would be able to compensate some other determinant factors of women participation in society. But recent studies, however, despite confirming a significant impact of ICT on reducing gender inequality suggest that the structural factors have much more (or the greatest) impact on gender inequality than ICT. This paper is to assess the above proposition, while emphasizing woman participation in labor market. To do that we developed a basic econometric model and estimated it through Panel Data technique separately for 1990- 2008 as long run and 1990- 99 & 2000­08 as short run periods for selected groups of developed and developing countries (inclUding Iran). Although the results imply that ICT has had significant effect on increasing women share in labor market, yet the effect of structural factors (such as social & cultural ones) is more significant. It seems that ICT as a complementary factor (besides structural ones) could facilitate elimination of gender inequality.

Keywords

Women's Studies Sociological and Psychological
Volume 11, Issue 2
July 2013
Pages 7-28

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