Gender and the Digital Divide

The digital divide could be considered a modern manifestation of social inequality, persistently relevant as the world continues to digitize. Study of the topic is widespread, with many reports on skill levels and digital usages, though typically on a regional or country level. For this study, the digital divide was conceptualized with four levels of access according to the model of Van Dijk: Motivation Access, Material Access, Skill Access, and Usage Access. Together, these concepts were measured as an index to determine an individual’s digital inclusion. Understanding who can and cannot access, is or is not included, and therefore does or does not benefit from online services and information sources is imperative for development of digitally-focused policies and plans. The lack of city-specific data for Rotterdam on this topic, combined with key characteristics like superdiversity of the population and national digital policies with local implications motivated the case selection. To execute this research, a survey was conducted in the Rotterdam district of Charlois, with a focus on the neighborhood of Carnisse to pilot the methodology for future, larger scale research. Beyond its functionality as a trial sample, Carnisse was selected due to its low social equality score relative to the rest of Rotterdam and explicit municipal interest in the area. Compounding factors of exclusion (i.e., low-income levels, foreign residents, social inequality) were central to the case study and analysis choices. The primary objective of this research was to use intersectional methods to quantitatively analyze determinants of digital inclusion in the neighborhood of Carnisse. While focused specifically on gender, other individual-level determinants like age, education, income, nationality, and heritage were considered and compared as potential factors of digital inclusion. The interconnected nature of gender bias, ethnicity-based bias, and social exclusion was visible in the collected data and calculated econometric models. Importantly, this thesis adds to a limited catalog of gender-focused digital divide studies. Applying an intersectional, gender-centered perspective of analysis to digital inclusion levels in Carnisse revealed differing exclusion factors for men and women, as well as lower digital inclusion levels for the non-Dutch population. Consequently, the findings outlined here have practical relevance for policymaking and encourage future deeper investigation regarding identity and digital inclusion.