Digital skills gaps: A pending subject for gender digital inclusion in the European Union

This article thoroughly analyses the Eurostat database on Digital Economy and Society to explore the evolution of the digital skills gaps by gender in the European Union between years 2007 and 2014. It finds that differences between women and men are slight in the most basic and widespread skills, b...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Martínez Cantos, José Luis
Format: article
Status:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Publication Date:2017
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repository:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/78005
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10609/78005
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:digital skills
gender gaps
European Union
digital agenda
digital natives
competències digitals
desigualtats de gènere
Unió Europea
agenda digital
nadius digitals
competencias digitales
brecha de género
Unión Europea
nativos digitales
Internet and women -- European Union countries
Gender equality -- European Union countries
Internet i dones -- Unió Europea, Països de la
Igualtat entre els sexes -- Unió Europea, Països de la
Internet y mujeres -- Unión Europea, Países de la
Igualdad entre los sexos -- Unión Europea, Países de la
Description
Summary:This article thoroughly analyses the Eurostat database on Digital Economy and Society to explore the evolution of the digital skills gaps by gender in the European Union between years 2007 and 2014. It finds that differences between women and men are slight in the most basic and widespread skills, but they are very significant in the more complex and less generalized tasks. The disparities in this regard have generally decreased but very few points, so they are rather stable over the period. Additionally, those gender gaps are even more marked in the high-educated groups and also relevant among younger cohorts. Contrary to the statements made by the European Commission in its reports, these findings indicate that digital skills gaps by gender are still significant and likely to persist at many levels of society, while 'ICT specialist' profiles are becoming more important for future employment opportunities.