Digital skills gapsA pending subject for gender digital inclusion in Catalonia

Resumen

Looking at a few basic indicators of access to ICTs, disparities between men and women seem to have virtually closed. However, it is necessary to acquire a complex and gradual perspective to understand rigorously the gender gaps regarding the engagement with these technologies. Within this perspective, the academic literature have put the focus on the digital skills dimension, considering this kind of literacy as an essential resource to manage and get the most from the growing amount of devices and applications. The political institutions have also emphasized these competences as a key factor for socioeconomic development and the need for incorporating more women in the ICT careers and occupations. This article studies the evolution of thedigital skills gaps by gender in Catalonia between years 2007 and 2014. The analysis is based on the microdata from the ‘Encuesta sobre equipamiento y uso de las tecnologías de la información en los hogares’ by INE. Multivariable methods are used to estimate the gender differences regarding different levels of digital skills, while controlling other involved factors. In order to contextualise the results for the case of Catalonia, they are compared with those for Spain as a whole. This work finds that the gender gaps are slight in the most basic and widespread skills, but women are significantly disadvantaged in the more complex and less generalized tasks. The disparities in this latter regard have generally remained rather stable over the period and, besides, they are even more marked in the younger cohorts and higheducated groups. Finally, it should be noted that those differences are regularly larger in Catalonia than in Spain as a whole. These findings suggest that digital skills gaps by gender are still significant and likely to persist at many levels of the Catalonian society, unless more intense actions are implemented.