Gender digital divide - Essay Example

The Gender Digital Divide The "gender digital divide" de s a current disparity between the digital technological competency and usage amongst the sexes. "Girls have reservations about the computer culture," while boys seem at home in the digital realm. (AAUW pg. ix).2) The "gender digital divide" can be compared to the "digital divide" between the races as discussed in Chapter 5: Interrogating the Digital Divide. While males tend to use digital technology more readily than females, there is evidence to suggest that some races use the Internet more frequently than others.

It has also been discerned that while males and females tend to use digital technology for different purposes, the races also utilize the Internet for a variety of disparate reasons.3) a) In regards to telecommunications, information studies, and the media department at MSU, I feel there is evidence of a gender digital divide. There are much fewer female students currently enrolled in DMAT classes than male students. b) I think the most appropriate and perhaps effective recommendations in addressing this issue would be: "Change the public face of computing" to make it less intimidating and more appealing to female students, and "educate students about technology and the future of work" to attract female students from various disciplines, including the arts (AAUW pg. xii). c) I would also recommend active recruitment of female students for GMAT classes and increased student training seminars to level the gender technology playing field and increase female interest in computer technology fields of study.

Works CitedAAUW Educational Foundation. Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age. Commission on Technology, Gender, and Teacher Education. 2000.Nakamura, Lisa. Interrogating the Digital Divide: The Political Economy of Race and Commerce in New Media. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Society Online: The Internet in Context. Sage: Thousand Oaks. 2004.