Internet Usage and Gender Equality Attitudes in Post-Soviet Countries

• In Event: 20220 - Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtable VIII: Politics & Conspiracies

Abstract

The study examines Internet usage in post-Soviet societies and its correlation with gender equality attitudes. The latest Gender Inequality Index provided by the Human Development Report groups the post-Soviet countries into three clusters that are 'more’ or ‘less’ gender-equal, but still, many of them have relatively high gender inequality. Previous studies showed that the digitalization of society and the spread of the Internet and social media usage positively impact gender equality attitudes due to the cultural shift towards globalization and democratization. Female empowerment and emancipative values are rising in Western cultures, which the Internet transmits to transition economies. The empirical analysis is based on the World Value Survey data from the last two waves, 2010–2014 and 2017–2020. The data allowed for the analysis of eleven post-Soviet societies and explored the changes within the last ten years. Firstly, we examined Internet use patterns among post-Soviet populations based on gender, nation, and age. Secondly, we explored how people's Internet use influences their views on gender equality. The results of regression modeling demonstrated that Internet use consistently and positively impacted all three tested gender equality indices: jobs, education, and politics. Moreover, Internet usage highly correlates with gender equality attitudes for women.

Authors

• Tatiana Karabchuk, United Arab Emirates University

• Glenn Walter Muschert, Khalifa Univ of Science & Technology