Gender and the Internet

Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 84, No.1, pp. 111-121, 2003

Posted: 8 Apr 2011 Last revised: 22 Jul 2014

See all articles by Hiroshi Ono

Hiroshi Ono

Texas A&M University

Madeline Zavodny

University of North Florida; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Agnes Scott College

Date Written: 2003

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This article examines whether there are differences in men’s and women’s use of the Internet and whether any such gender gaps have changed in recent years.

METHODS: We use data from several surveys during the period 1997 to 2001 to show trends in Internet usage and to estimate regression models of Internet usage that control for individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics.

RESULTS: Women were significantly less likely than men to use the Internet at all in the mid-1990s, but this gender gap in being online disappeared by 2000. However, once online, women remain less frequent and less intense users of the Internet.

CONCLUSIONS: There is little reason for concern about sex inequalities in Internet access and usage now, but gender differences in frequency and intensity of Internet usage remain.

Keywords: Internet, gender, race

JEL Classification: J15, J16, L86, O33

Suggested Citation

Ono, Hiroshi and Zavodny, Madeline, Gender and the Internet (2003). Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 84, No.1, pp. 111-121, 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=518885

Hiroshi Ono (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University ( email )

Department of Sociology
College Station, TX 77843-4351
United States
979 458 3530 (Phone)

Madeline Zavodny

University of North Florida ( email )

4567 St. Johns Bluff Road, South
Jacksonville, FL 32224-2645
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Agnes Scott College ( email )

United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
1,157
PlumX Metrics