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Gender differences in information technology usage: a U.S.-Japan comparison

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Abstract
This study examines whether there are differences in men?s and women?s use of computers and the Internet in the United States and Japan and how any such gender gaps have changed over time. The authors focus on these two countries because information technology is widely used in both, but there are substantial differences in institutions and social organizations. They use microdata from several surveys during the 1997?2001 period to examine differences and trends in computer and Internet usage in the two countries. Their results indicate that there were significant gender differences in computer and Internet usage in both countries during the mid-1990s. By 2001, these gender differences had disappeared or were even reversed in the United States but remained in Japan. People not currently working have lower levels of IT use and skills in both countries regardless of gender, but working women in Japan have lower levels of IT use and skills than working men, a difference that generally does not occur in the United States. This finding suggests that employment status per se does not play a large role in the gender gap in Japan, but type of employment does. The prevalence of nonstandard employment among female workers in Japan accounts for much of the gender gap in IT use and skills in that country.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroshi Ono & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "Gender differences in information technology usage: a U.S.-Japan comparison," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2004-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:2004-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Menzie D. Chinn & Robert W. Fairlie, 2007. "The determinants of the global digital divide: a cross-country analysis of computer and internet penetration," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 59(1), pages 16-44, January.
    2. Chinn, Menzie David & Fairlie, Robert W, 2004. "The Determinants of the Global Digital Divide: A Cross-Country Analysis of Computer and Internet Penetration," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt76x9876q, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    3. Chinn, Menzie David & Fairlie, Robert W, 2004. "The Determinants of the Global Digital Divide: A cross-country analysis of computer and internet penetration," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt6hz053p3, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    4. Menzie D. Chinn & Robert W. Fairlie, 2010. "ICT Use in the Developing World: An Analysis of Differences in Computer and Internet Penetration," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 153-167, February.
    5. Chinn, Menzie David & Fairlie, Robert W, 2004. "The Determinants of the Global Digital Divide: A Cross-Country Analysis of Computer and Internet Penetration," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt2r80c4t3, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    6. Pierdzioch, Christian & Emrich, Eike, 2014. "Internet und die Bindung Ehrenamtlicher am Beispiel des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes," Working Papers of the European Institute for Socioeconomics 5, European Institute for Socioeconomics (EIS), Saarbrücken.
    7. Maria Rosalia Vicente & Ana Jesus Lopez, 2008. "Some empirical evidence on Internet diffusion in the New Member States and Candidate Countries of the European Union," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(13), pages 1015-1018.

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