(1) The study examined gender inequality in internet use in Azerbaijan by analyzing survey data on socioeconomic factors influencing internet access and activities. (2) Results showed that gender was the most important predictor of internet frequency and social media use, with men using the internet more often than women. (3) However, the internet may reinforce Azerbaijan's culture of restricting women's public participation and maintaining family honor, presenting risks of cyberbullying and privacy violations that disproportionately impact women. Further research is needed on how sociocultural norms shape women's internet experiences.

1. THE REPRODUCTION AND
AMPLIFICATION OF GENDER
INEQUALITY ONLINE: THE CASE
OF AZERBAIJAN
---------Dr. Katy Pearce
University of Washington
1
@katypearce

2. NOT NEW
Matthew effect is where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer
Knowledge Gap Hypothesis where those with the most resources adopt first, have
and gain more skills, and use technology more effectively – thus benefiting earlier
and more and increasing a gap
Digital Divide
gap between haves & haves nots
2

3. Positional
categories
Participation
in society
Access
Resources
Personal
categories
Usage
access
Skills access
Material
access
Motivation
al access
Technological properties of
ICT
---------------------------------------------------Influences on Digital Divide
Van Dijk’s (2005) model
3

4. AGE
Younger people have the highest adoption
rate and levels of use of the Internet due to
earlier exposure, training, peer use, and
greater comfort
EDUCATION
Educational attainment is positively related
to Internet adoption and use because of
greater awareness, training, apacibilities,
and ability to evaluate content
------
Personal
categories
ECONOMIC WELLBEING
Because of the greater ability to afford
the related costs, economic wellbeing is
related to Internet adoption and use
URBANNESS
Because
of
telecommunications
infrastructure, pace of life, educational
opportunities, and motivation, rural
residents are less likely to adopt and use
the Internet
Influences on Digital Divide
socioeconomic & demographics
4

5. -------------------
Most studies show that
men use the Internet
more than women do
because of more prior
exposure to technology
as well as work-related
needs
Women tend to use
the Internet for
communication and
social reasons
---------------------------------------------------But sex differences have mostly disappeared in higher income countries
---------------------------------------------------Employment
Some argue ICTs can empower
women, but barriers remain
Education
Financial resources
Cultural
Influences on Digital Divide
the greatest divide?
5

6. Post-Soviet
Secular Muslim
Authoritarian
High literacy
Oil wealth
Context
Azerbaijan
6

7. • Azerbaijani women have household responsibilities
• Azerbaijani women are less likely to work outside the home and
thus less exposed to technology
• However, it is possible that the Internet is another public space
where behavior must be in check and controlled
---------------------------------------------------• The Azerbaijani media does not frame social media in a positive light
• “Family tragedies,” “criminal incidents,” “mental disorders,” “sex
trafficking of women and children,” “causes divorce”
Gender and the Internet
another public space?
7

8. • Azerbaijani women perform a second shift
• Honor culture
• Value personal and family honor and reputation
• Specific behavioral codes of obedience
• Must retaliate against honor violations
---------------------------------------------------• Women play a special role in honor culture
• While men are tough and have to reaffirm their status, women are
modest, have a norm of shame, and avoid embarrassing situations
and behaviors
• Sexual honor, “namus,” is very important to socialize into daughters
• This restricts women’s mobility and access to public spaces
• Honor is maintained through kinship
Gender in Azerbaijan
political and cultural
8

9. RQS
RQ1: What is the relative importance of sociodemographic characteristics on
Internet use frequency levels?
RQ2: What is the relative importance of sociodemographic characteristics on
capital enhancing Internet activities of social networking site use and online news
reading?
Research Questions
9

10. RESPONDENTS & SAMPLING
N=1829
Caucasus Research Resource Center
Nationally representative, annual repeated questions
Method
10

11. RQ1: WHAT IS THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ON INTERNET
USE FREQUENCY LEVELS?
All differences significant in a univariate ANOVA
Azerbaijan Internet Frequency X Gender (%) (CB, 2012)
58%
14%
8%
Every day
17%
12%
4%
At least once a week
4%
6%
2%
At least once a month
male
Results
65%
6%
4%
Less often
Never
I don’t know what the
Internet is
female
11

12. RQ1: WHAT IS THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ON INTERNET
USE FREQUENCY LEVELS?
Linear regression
Adjusted R2 = .30
Results
12

13. RQ1: WHAT IS THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ON INTERNET
USE FREQUENCY LEVELS?
Multinominal logistic regression
X2 = 2632478.311 (20) ***
Nagel. R2 = .41
Gender
Age
Education
Economic wellbeing
Urban
Intercept
Results
Infrequent
.88 (.01)***
Wald 43883.90
C.I. 2.39
-.05 (.00)***
Wald 107793.523
C.I. .95
.50 (.00)***
Wald 88995.53
C.I. 1.65
.27 (.00)***
Wald 15132.49
C.I. 1.31
.21 (.00)***
Wald 15911.79
C.I. 1.23
Monthly
.90 (.01)***
Wald 29865.91
C.I. 2.46
-.07 (.00)***
Wald 108069.35
C.I. .93
.53 (.00)***
Wald 64887.21
C.I. 1.70
.77 (.00)***
Wald 82937.62
C.I. 2.16
.05 (.00)***
Wald 421.64
C.I. 1.04
Weekly
1.62 (.00)***
Wald 4187972.67
C.I. 5.07
-.08 (.00)***
Wald 307072.37
C.I. .92
.78 (.00)***
Wald 315705.30
C.I. 2.17
.54 (.00)***
Wald 87043.04
C.I. 1.71
.36 (.00)***
Wald 63815.32
C.I. 1.44
Daily
1.27 (.00)***
Wald 141652.18
C.I. 3.56
-.11 (.00)***
Wald 465250.96
C.I .90
.93 (.00)***
Wald 498574.30
C.I. 2.54
.43 (.00)***
Wald 60840.93
C.I. 1.54
.47 (.00)***
Wald 110010.69
C.I. 1.60
-4.461 (.01)***
Wald 205375.91
-5.65 (.01)***
Wald 201155.63--
-5.86 (.01)***
Wald 455012.79
-5.39 (.01)***
Wald 426210.55
13

14. RQ2: WHAT IS THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ON CAPITAL
ENHANCING INTERNET ACTIVITIES OF SOCIAL
NETWORKING SITE USE AND ONLINE NEWS READING?
Azerbaijan SNS use X gender (%) (CB, 2012)
60%
Azerbaijan Online news user X gender (%) (CB, 2012)
60%
54%
50%
50%
43%
40%
40%
35%
30%
30%
20%
15%
10%
20%
17%
14%
10%
0%
5%
2%
0%
male users
female users
Results
male total
female total
male users
female users
male total
female total
14

15. RQ2: WHAT IS THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ON CAPITAL
ENHANCING INTERNET ACTIVITIES OF SOCIAL
NETWORKING SITE USE AND ONLINE NEWS READING?
Binomial logistic regression
SNS
Gender
Age
Education
Economic wellbeing
Urban
Internet Frequency
Constant
Results
News
.42 (.00)***
Wald 13144.27
C.I. 1.52
-.06 (.00)***
Wald 115825.35
C.I .94
.02 (.00)***
Wald 302.58
C.I. 1.02
-.10 (.00)***
Wald 2838.82
C.I. .91
-.14 (.00)***
Wald 7705.26
C.I. .87
.33 (.00)***
Wald 37204.90
C.I. 1.39
.12 (.01)***
Wald 638.18
C.I. 1.13
.03 (.00)***
Wald 32868.65
C.I 1.03
.26 (.00)***
Wald 22712.74
C.I. 1.29
-.08 (.00)***
Wald 1033.58
C.I. .93
-.09 (.00)***
Wald 1807.22
C.I. .92
.05 (.00)***
Wald 520.63
C.I. 1.05
1.05 (.01)***
Wald 11814.95
C.I. 2.85
Nagelkerke R2 = .18
-.397 (.01)***
Wald 90567.44
Nagelkerke R2 = .07
15

16. WHAT HAPPENED?
Gender was the most important predictor for Internet frequency, SNS use, and
second most important for online news.
But is the Internet just another resource that they do have equal access to or is it a
place where honor can be violated?
• Cyberbulling and trolling
• Teenage suicides
Maybe the Internet isn’t such a great place to be?
Discussion
16

17. THANK YOU !
FOR YOUR ATTENTION
17