Gender issues in information and communication technologies (ICTs)
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14779961211227010 |
| Date | 11 May 2012 |
| Pages | 107-120 |
| Published date | 11 May 2012 |
| Author | Wieslaw Oleksy,Edyta Just,Kaja Zapedowska‐Kling |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Gender issues in information
and communication
technologies (ICTs)
Wieslaw Oleksy
Department of Transatlantic and Media Studies,
University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
Edyta Just
Women’s Studies Centre, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland, and
Kaja Zapedowska-Kling
Department of Transatlantic and Media Studies,
University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings (which were reported on more
extensively in earlier work) regarding the visibility of gender issues in the literature on selected
information and communication technologies (ICTs) with a view to make predictions about potential
ethical issues that the application of these ICTs may bring about in the future. This paper is part of the
larger research project called ETICA (Ethical Issues of Emerging Information and Communication
Technologies), a collaborative project funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union.
Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of the analysis of around 100 published sources,
which dealtwith various aspects of selectedICTs, conclusions have beendrawn regarding gender issues
andconcerns that the applicationsof these ICTsmay cause. The authors’analysis is theoreticallyinformed
by critical discourseanalysis (CDA) which assumesthat texts, both written and spoken,as well as other
forms of symbolic representations, are indicative of social practices. Of particular methodological
relevance was the survey of methods of text and discourse analysis presented in Titscher et al. and
especially the application of keyword search as a way to measurethe prominence of each investigated
method.This approach to literaturesurveying provedvery useful in selecting analyticmaterial: only those
published sourceson the selected four ICTs have been included in the survey, forwhich the analysis of
keywords, abstractsand indexes of terms indicated authors’interest in gender issues.
Findings – First, ICTs such as affective computing, ambient intelligence, and artificial intelligence,
have been found to have the potential of positively affecting gender power relations and thus
positively affecting gender balance in the areas of labour market related to ICT across EU countries
and worldwide. Second, more research on the relationship between gender and ICT design, application
and representation is needed, so as to enhance a better understanding of ethical issues resulting from
unequal participation of women and men in all aspects of ICT production and implementation, which
in itself is an ethical dilemma with which both the ICT business and legislators have to grapple.
Originality/value – The paper offers insight into the relationship between the level of attention
devoted to particular ICTs by ICT researchers, as evidenced in the reviewed literature, and the
likelihood of the application of a particular ICT in the future, which is looked at and assessed from a
gender perspective.
Keywords Information technology, Communicationtechnologies,
Information andcommunication technology, Gender, Ethics
Paper type Literature review
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm
Gender issues
in ICTs
107
Received 25 February 2011
Revised 21 December 2011
Accepted 4 January 2012
Journal of Information,
Communication and Ethics in Society
Vol. 10 No. 2, 2012
pp. 107-120
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/14779961211227010
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