Term Paper: New Technologies Will Challenge Or Reaffirm The Traditional Construction Of Gender
Abstract
The technology revolution of the 20th century minimized the importance of geographical, economic, social and political barriers and reduced transaction and information costs thus boosting productivity and growth, making governance more transparent and empowering the citizen. It propelled not only democracy, but also the market economy. Its impact on social relations, especially on gender relations, was significant, with the commodification of labor, the disintegration of traditional family models, and the separation of the work and living spaces creating the distinction between productive and reproductive work and diminishing the socioeconomic status of women.
One can only speculate how the technological revolution of the 20th and 21st centuries will ultimately impact gender relations as we are still in the process of change to a fully-fledged digitized society. There is mixed evidence on the empowering or disempowering potential of new technology for women. New technologies clearly seem to have the potential of removing women-specific barriers to participation and organization and leveling centuries-old gender inequality. The gender gap in access and usage, however, reveals that women are not able to tap the empowering potential of new technologies at par with men. The gendered socio-cultural and economic environment in which New technologies are embedded as well as the gendered design and regulatory framework of the new technologies obstruct New technologies from unfolding their empowering potential for women.
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