GENDER DIFFERENCES

& INFORMATION RESOURCESPresented by Kathy Beck

IM 552

Outline of Presentation: Questions to Consider What do we look for? Preferences & Interests Women Websites Men Websites Definitions Variables History and Access Women’s Views and Attitudes Frequency and Scope of Use Statistics found by Fallows What does the Future hold?

Questions to Consider: Is the Internet male-dominated? Has

it or will it change? What variables affect frequency and

scope of use between men and women?

What do men and women prefer? Are their interests similar or different?

How do women feel about the Internet?

How can we help both men and women to be skillful information-seeking individuals?

Other than for work or school,

What do you access the Internet for?Online Banking Email

Health Information NewsJob Opportunities EntertainmentGovernment IssuesPay BillsOnline StoresFind an AnswerReservations Downloads

What do women prefer?Personal ties

Emails (personal) Relationship-buildingReligious Information

Maps & DirectionsDiscussion groupsRelational issues

Educational assistance-Refer to (Fallows,2005) Part 4. Activities and

trends, for a chart of differences between men and women’s activities online.

What do men prefer?Gaming

Do-it-yourself sitesPurchasing Wide Variety

Pictures and links Entertainment

DownloadsNewsTravel

-Refer to (Fallows,2005) Part 4. Activities and trends, for a chart of differences between men

and women’s activities online.

Websites for Women

www.ivillage.com www.womensforum.com www.oxygen.com www.bellaonline.com www.i-women.net

Websites for Menwww.mensfitness.com www.fathermag.com www.menstuff.org www.askmen.com www.menshealthnetwork.org

DefinitionsSkill = “Ability to locate content online

effectively and efficiently” (Hargittai, 2006)

Self-Efficacy Scores: an individual’s personal judgment of his/her own ability to succeed in reaching a specific goal

Frequency: Amount of time an individual uses the web for social and/or professional activity

Scope: the variety of websites used by an individual

Variables that may affect

Internet Use and Access:Education

Socioeconomic statusGeographyEthnicity

AgeGender: studies have found “little significant

variation in access by gender” (Wasserman, 2005)

*Gender may affect Frequency and Scope of use!

History & Access to the Internet

-”Internet frequently has been characterized as male-dominated”

(Weiser, 2000)-In 1994 only 5% were female users

-Now the Gender Gap is rapidly diminishing!!

-Roughly 58% of new users are women

-Research indicates the possibility of women surpassing men in Internet

use

Women’s Views & Attitudes:

(Since the 1990’s)-Early 1990’s: Women saw men as being better at understanding the

Internet-Scored lower on Self-Efficacy tests

-Higher level of anxiety, less confident -Because of the growth of Internet

usage: the gap has almost disappeared

-Increase experience = Increase skill

Statistics from Pew Internet Project Survey

(Fallows, 2005):-Younger women online more than younger

men-Older women lagging behind (over the age

of 65) 21% compared to 34% of men over 65

-68% of men, 66% of women are online-44% of men are online several times per

day compared to 39% of women-94% of women send and receive email,

compared to 88% of men

% Men % Women

Online overall 68 66

Age in years 18 – 29 80 86* 30 – 49 76 79 50 – 64 63 66 65 and older 34* 21

Education No h.s. diploma 32 27

High school 58 56

Some College 79 79

College grad or graduate degree 89 89

Race White 70* 67 Hispanic 67 66 Black 50 60* Other 72 66Annual household income < $30,000 49 48 $30,000 – $50,000 66 76* $50,000 – $75,000 84 87 > $75,000 90 95*

Marital status Married 72 75 Not married 62* 56 Parental status Parent (of child under 18)

81 80 Non-parent (of child under 18)

61* 57 Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project,

for all surveys for 2005. N=6,403. Margin of error±2%. * Represents statistically significant difference

Part 2. DemographicsPercentage of men and women who go online:

Frequency & Scope Question: Why do men spend more time online and view more sites and resources?

Answer: 1.)Socioeconomic Differences: higher income and educational levels lead to more

time online&

2.)Gender-Specific Differences: men have historically had more experience with

technology, leading to higher skill level

(Wasserman, 2005)

Socioeconomic & Gender-Specific Issues:

-”Double Day” – to come home from paid jobs to dinner, dishes, cranky children, and tired husbands; to work all week and spend much of the weekend doing the laundry and cleaning the house (Ellen Israel Rosen)

-In other words: No Time!-Self-Perceived Abilities vs. Actual Abilities

(Hargittai,2006)*But times are a changin’…..

-More women are going into Science and Math-Women are given increased office administrative

activities-Women are using online resources for every day life

The Future: How does this affect Media

Specialists?-Social Inequality: Everyone is

different!!-Delve into the users information

needs and skills-Our own ideas and search habits

may not be the same as someone else’s

-Experiences, views, skills and interests all differ from individual to individual, male to female.

REFERENCESFallows, Deborah (2007). How women and men use the Internet. Pew Internet &

American Life Project. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from http://www.pewinternet.org/

Hargittai, Eszter (2006). Differences in actual and perceived online skills: The role of gender. Social Sciences Quarterly. 87(2): 432-448. Retrieved October 28,

2007 from http://eszter.com/research/a17-genderskills.htmlHerring, Susan (1994). Gender differences in computer mediated

communication : Bringing familiar baggage to the new frontier. American Library Association annual convention, Miami, June 27, 1994. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from http://www.cpsr.org/issues/womenintech/herring2

Hupfer, Maureen E. & Detlor, Brian (2006). Beyond gender differences: Self-concept orientation an drelationship-building applications on the Internet. Journal of Business Research, 60(6), 613-619. Retrieved October 25, 2007 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.stcloudstate.edu

Joiner, Richard, et al.(2005). Gender, Internet identification, and Internet anxiety: Correlates of Internet Use. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 8(4). Retrieve from Academic Search Premier, November 1, 2007.

Lorigo, Lori, et al. (2005). The influence of task and gender on search and evaluation behavior using Google. Information Processing and Management, 42(4), 1123-1131. Retrieved October 28, 2007 from http://www.sciencedirect.com

Wasserman, Ira M. & Richmond-Abbott, Marie (2005). Gender and the Internet: Causes of variation in access, level, and scope of use. Social Sciences Quarterly, 86(1). Retrieved November 1, 2007 from https://199.17.24.3/im552/Unit_8

Weiser, Eric B.(2000) Gender differences in Internet use patterns and Internet application preferences: A two-sample comparison. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 3. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier, November 1, 2007.