Gender approaches in the study of the digital economy: a systematic literature review

Mónica Grau-Sarabia,Mayo Fuster-Morell

doi:10.1057/s41599-021-00875-x

Mónica Grau-Sarabia, Mayo Fuster-Morell

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00875-x

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Abstract

The data and debates around the negative impact of online work for women’s work-life balance during the digital acceleration generated by the COVID-19 crisis have lent greater relevance to the study of gender and the digital economy. This paper sheds light on this complex relationship by systematically studying the research on gender in the digital economy over the last 25 years. The methodology used is a systematic literature review (SLR) of scientific works and policy papers across different social sciences from 1995 to 2020 in the Google Scholars and Scopus databases. The SLR has resulted in the creation of three samples on which a quantitative and qualitative analysis was carried out to evaluate the volume of the research, trends across time, gender approaches and study topics. The general conclusions indicate that gender approaches to the digital economy stem from a wide range of academic disciplines, and also that there is a lack of theoretical consistency about gender analysis. First, the paper provides an overview of the volume of works and an analysis of some trends across time. Second, it identifies the three main gender approaches applied to the digital economy: (1) the ‘feminist theory of technology and ICT’ approach; (2) the ‘feminist political economy’ approach; (3) the ‘mainstream economic analysis and women’s participation and labour in the digital economy’ approach. Moreover, it distinguishes eight main gender analysis issues within these three approaches. Finally, the paper concludes by identifying future developments for a feminist political economy framework for the digital economy.

Highlights

Around 25 years have passed since digital technologies began to develop and pervade almost every aspect of sociopolitical and economic life, giving rise to what is known as the ‘Network Society’ (Castells, 1996) and transforming most sectors of economic activity and the economy as a whole
Research methodology This paper aims to answer the question of how the relationship between gender and the digital economy has been studied over time by undertaking a systematic literature review (SLR)
Based on an SLR, the analysis shows that gender analysis on the digital economy has been limited and unsystematized, and needs to be expanded and explored in greater depth, while a dialogue about it needs to be started to create coherence

Summary

Introduction

Around 25 years have passed since digital technologies began to develop and pervade almost every aspect of sociopolitical and economic life, giving rise to what is known as the ‘Network Society’ (Castells, 1996) and transforming most sectors of economic activity and the economy as a whole It has been 25 years since the Beijing Platform for Action (United Nations Women, 1995) set up the global agenda of social, political and economic gender equality. Over the course of only a few weeks in March, due to the situation created by COVID-19, the apparent agreement on the benefits of technology in women’s lives turned into a political debate about gender inequalities related to teleworking and care responsibilities (United Nations Women, 2020b) In this regard, the COVID-19 crisis has evidenced the lack of clarity in the idea that the digital economy is a source or consequence of unequal gender relations and the need to investigate this complex interplay. The paper seeks to fill this gap by systematically studying the research conducted over the last 25 years to answer the research question: How has gender been studied in the digital economy?

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