GENDER AND INTERNET USAGE
Where have all the women gone?
Women are a clear minority on the Internet. They are underrepresented in college courses involving Internet access and are more likely to have anxiety about the Internet than men (Wells, 1995, 9). It has been shown that this is not an event exclusive to college-age women. K-12 girls are often discouraged from technology, including both computers and the Internet (Koch, 1994, 14). But there are ways to expose girls to technology. Some examples are: analysis of preferences, reform of teaching methods, female teachers as role models, and all-girls computer classrooms (16-19).
Feminists have also called the Internet a site of patriarchal power (Lucek, 1995, 10). But, the Internet can be a place for women to share with each other. Some sites available for women through the Internet are women's resource pages, feminist activism resources, organizational and professional homepages, events calendars, magazines, listserves, interactive forums, research projects, individual home pages, and virtual clubs (10).
If women are not on the net and men are, what conclusions can we draw? What issues arise? It has been shown that women are not encouraged in math or science. Is the same true for the Internet? If so, perhaps steps should be taken to encourage women to become involved in the net. On the other hand, if the net is a "man's world," should women be looking to develop communication in a place they can call their own?
