Julie Sweet
In every industry, digital technologies are transforming the status quo. Now we have evidence that they are also bringing us closer to workplace equality. Digital fluency is helping to level the playing field between men and women at work.
Recent research from Accenture, “Getting to Equal: How Digital Is Helping Close the Gender Gap at Work,” found that when men and women have the same level of digital fluency — defined as the extent to which they embrace and use digital technologies to become more knowledgeable, connected, and effective — women are better at using those digital skills to gain more education and to find work.
Accenture surveyed nearly 5,000 men and women in 31 countries, exploring their use of technology, including access to devices like smartphones and wireless wearable devices, and the frequency with which they use them. Essentially, we looked at people’s ability to use technology in their everyday life and work, and how well they use it.
Respondents were also asked about their education and careers, including whether they’d ever taken virtual courses through an online university, whether they use social media or online job postings to access employment opportunities, and whether they use instant messaging or webcams to collaborate at work.
We combined our survey findings with data from organizations such as the World Bank on education enrollment, labor participation rates, and the rates of women in managerial roles. Our analysis found strong evidence that digital fluency is helping women gain employment and attain higher levels of education, and that it is increasingly important in helping women advance at work. Digital fluency appears to be helping women access opportunities that didn’t exist before, such as the sharing economy and online learning, and it is critical for the flexibility they need to find and stay in jobs.
The study predicts that if we can double the pace at which women become frequent users of digital technologies, the workplace could reach gender equality by 2040 in developed nations and by 2060 in developing nations. At the current pace such equality won’t be achieved until 2065 in developed nations and 2100 in developing countries. This is a huge leap forward.
The study also examined differences between countries and found that nations with higher rates of digital fluency among women have higher rates of gender equality in the workplace. For example, the U.S., the Netherlands, the UK, and the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland) have the highest digital fluency scores and rank among the top performers in workplace equality.
The article's full-text is available here.
