Are All American Women Making Progress Online? African–Americans and Latinas

Abstract

Although the gender gap online has narrowed in the United States, little research on technology access and use has examined the different experiences of women—particularly the interaction between gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty. Using the most recent comprehensive survey of technology use and access, the 2003 Current Population Survey, we find new evidence of diminishing gender disparities overall, differences between African–American women and Latinas in the factors that influence technology access and use, and some indications that minority women outpace their male peers online. However, substantial disadvantages for minority women remain, driven by inequalities in education and income. We find evidence that while there is virtually no gender gap in technology access between White men and women, there is a gender divide among minority populations, but women are not unilaterally disadvantaged.