JosMarie Griffiths

1
Women in CyberspaceIssues For and About Women
Using the Internet

• José-Marie Griffiths
• Chief Information Officer
• University of Michigan

Case Western Reserve November 7, 1997
2
Businesses with Home Page 1997 Women-Owned 23
Men-Owned 16 Businesses Subscribing to
On-line Service Women-Owned 47 Men-Owned 41
Businesses Frequently Using the Internet for
Business Communication Women-Owned 51 Men-Owne
d 40 Businesses Using the Internet for
Research Women-Owned 22 Men-Owned 14
3
Internet Aptitude Test 1997 (Up to 100 points
possible)
U.S. National Average 78.80 Women 79.91 Men
78.29 In 24-39 Age Group Women 80.85 Men 80
.52 Women Age 60 Scored 71.38 Men 17-
Scored 70.64 Women 17- Scored 78.14
4
DemographicsGender by Lifestage Third age women
are particularly motivated by children and
grandchildren, and a desire to email family and
friends. Why did you get on-line in the first
place?
Total Third Age Men 50
Women 50 967 664 301 Try
something new 67 66 69 Email family
friends 53 49 63 Work 26 27 23 School
5 4 7 Work at home 24 21 31 Parents/frien
ds 10 8 13 For the kids 14 15 13 Children/
grandchildren 20 17 26 Note that women, more
than men, are driven by a desire to work from
home.
5
Internet UsageOn-Line Applications and
Usage by Lifestage Women
are more likely to play games and chat. Men are
more likely to download software and purchase
productsprobably software. Which applications
have you used on-line? Have you ever used the
Internet to
Total Third
Age Men 50 Women 50 Women vs. Men
967 664 301 Email 96 96 98
2 Keyword searches 85 84 86 2 Collect product
information 83 85 81 -4 Download
software 76 80 66 -14 Email enclosures 71 73 65
-8 Watch audio/video clips 56 60 47 -13 Chat 39 35
47 12
6
Internet UsageOn-Line Applications and
Usage by Lifestage (continued) Women are more
likely to play games and chat. Men are more
likely to download software and purchase
productsprobably software. Which applications
have you used on-line? Have you ever used the
Internet to
Total Third
Age Men 50 Women 50 Women vs.
Men 967 664 301 Forums/newsgroups 46 4
8 44 -4 Games 37 29 54 25 Purchase
products 42 46 33 -13 Make travel
arrangements 37 35 41 6 Create web
pages 17 16 19 3 Instant messaging/buddy
lists 21 20 26 6 Push 17 20 10 -10 MUDs
5 4 6 2
7
Attitudes and Outlook by Gender Though less
experienced, third age women appear more positive
about the Internet than third age men. Please
rate each of the following phrases on a 5-point
scale where 5 means Strongly Agree and 1
means Strongly Disagree
Total
Male Female Female vs. Total 967 664 301
Im a fairly new user of the
Web 47 40 55 8 I like to surf for new
sites 70 67 77 7 I use the Web primarily for
personal use 67 64 72 5 I have a favorite
search engine... 44 47 38 -6 The Web keeps me
up-to-date with the latest trends 47 46 50 3
The Internet has definitely improved my
life 45 42 51 6
Top 2 Box Score saying Strongly Agree or
Agree
8
Attitudes and Outlook by Gender, continued

Total Male Female Female vs. Total
967 664 301 Need the Net to stay in
touch with family and friends 43 37 56 13 Iv
e met many new people on the
Web 22 20 27 5 The Web is often frustrating
and confusing 39 38 42 3 Internet is safe for
purchases and financial transactions 21 23 16
-5 The Web has a hard time living up to the
hype 27 16 19 -8 Im a heavy user of chat and
newsgroups 12 10 15 3 Im very cautious about
trying new technologies 29 28 33 4 New sites
tend to confuse me so I stick to what I
know 15 13 18 3
Top 2 Box Score saying Strongly Agree or
Agree
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Segmentation AnalysisKey Descriptors
NetHeads Veterans New Enthusiasts Laggards Dilbe
rts Highly Business- New to New to Business
Engaged oriented the Web the Web Users
Very Social Experienced Optimistic Uninspired
Unimpressed Confident Purposeful Eager Disengage
d Apathetic Adventurous Discriminating Social Pa
ssive Jaded Discriminating Non-Social Experimenta
l Provincial Indifferent
10
Segmentation Analysis The segmentation helps to
explain the differences between third age men
and women.
All
Third Age Male 50 Female 50
967 664 301 NetHeads 16 15 19 Veterans 20
23 11 New Enthusiasts 36 33 43 Laggards 20 21 20
Dilberts 8 9 8
A veteran mentality shades the views of third
age men, while third age women are new
enthusiast in outlook. (Third age laggards
show no gender skew.)
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Conclusions

• Third age women have been slower to get on-line
  than younger womencausing the third age
  (as a whole) to remain predominantly male
• Women show stronger representation in the early
  third age
• Early third age women are joining the ranks of
  other women who (as a whole) comprise the
  fastest growing segment of on-line users
• Note that third age women seem to be
  enthusiastic about the Web more than men
• They are also more apt to like the social and
  recreational aspects than men (i.e. email,
  chat, games, etc.)

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Conclusions, continued

• Third age men divide into two camps Savvy
  veteran users who were presumably
  introduced to the Net at work, and older
  men who are new to the Web
• The veterans are primarily early and middle
  third agers, while the latter are middle and
  late third agers
• In many ways, early third agers mirror the
  attitudes and usage habits of 45 to 49
  year-olds. By contrast, middle third agers
  are more akin to late third agers
• Issues related to career and workand even
  children are still salient for early third
  agers
• All third agers indicate a stronger interest
  (than younger users) in politics and
  government, medical, travel, and
  financial/investment information

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Demographic Characteristics of Internet and Web
Usage Segments
High Internet Use
Low Internet Use
High Web Use Low Web Use No Web Use
Low Web Use No Web Use Non-User
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
(6) Men 78.0 72.0 55.7 62.8 44.2 46.5 Women 22.0
28.0 44.3 37.2 55.8 53.5
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Activities Frequently Performed by Internet and
Web Usage Segments
High Internet Use
Low Internet Use
Men
High Web Use Low Web Use No Web Use
Low Web Use No Web Use Non-User
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
(6) Communication 36.5 30.4 21.7 6.8 4.2 26
.3 Download Software 15.2 8.3 1.4 2.5 10
.3 8.9 Interactive Discussions
8.5 12.1 2.2 3.8 4.2 7.6 Non-Interactive
Discussions 19.2 9.3 14.6 8.7 7.8 13.3 Use
another Computer 19.2 9.3 14.6 8.7 7.8 13
.3 Real Time Audio or Video
3.6 .2 3.3 1.7 0 2.1 Segment Size (Men)
in Millions 3.85 3.28 1.89 1.29 .66 10.97
Percentage of segment which frequently performs
each activity (selects top category on five-point
rating scale).
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Activities Frequently Performed by Internet and
Web Usage Segments
High Internet Use
Low Internet Use
Women
High Web Use Low Web Use No Web Use
Low Web Use No Web Use Non-User
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
(6) Communication 40.9 27.9 41.7 16.3 6.7 2
7.9 Download Software 9.7 5.5 4.0 5.1 4.
5 5.5 Interactive Discussions
6.0 11.5 9.4 2.8 4.4 7.1 Non-Interactive
Discussions 23.5 7.0 10.1 14.2 9.6 11.9 Use
another Computer 4.7 5.8 7.0 .70 .62 4.2
Real Time Audio or Video 4.6 2.7 1.7 6.5
0 2.8 Segment Size (Women) in Millions
1.09 1.27 1.50 .77 .84 5.47
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Activities Frequently Performed on the Web by
Web Usage Segments
High Internet Use
Low Internet Use
Men
High Web Use Low Web Use
Low Web Use No Web Use
(1) (2) (4) (1,2,4) Very skilled
at navigating Web 15.6 1.5 2.2 8.1
Navigating Web is very Challenging
8.9 8.7 20.9 10.6 Search for product/service
info 72.2 48.6 42.5 58.4 Made purchase
based on Web info 28.5 16.9 6.7 20.6 Search
for company/org info 71.6 56.3 45.6 61.7 Sear
ch for other info on the Web 85.8 66.2 59.7 74
.2 Browse/explore 94.5 86.5 83.6 89.7 See
whats new at favorite Web sites
75.7 56.8 45.7 63.7 Ever used Web for
business 56.6 43.7 36.6 48.5 Segment size
(men) in millions 3.85 3.28 1.29 8.43
Percent selecting top category of five-point
rating scale is report for the skill and
challenge items. Percent checking yes
category of yes/no scale is reported for
remaining seven items.
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Activities Frequently Performed on the Web by
Web Usage Segments
High Internet Use
Low Internet Use
Women
High Web Use Low Web Use
Low Web Use No Web Use
(1) (2) (4) (1,2,4) Very skilled
at navigating Web 12.1 .9 1.6 5.0 Navigatin
g Web is very Challenging 19.3 15.2 27.1 19.5
Search for product/service info
55.7 33.1 31.2 40.5 Made purchase based on
Web info 17.7 7.8 5.2 10.6 Search for
company/org info 66.5 45.3 25.7 47.9 Search
for other info on the Web 82.8 65.7 50.7 68.0
Browse/explore 90.6 82.2 74.5 83.2 See
whats new at favorite Web sites
67.5 44.1 25.6 47.7 Ever used Web for
business 46.3 29.7 30.6 35.7 Segment size
(women) in millions 1.09 1.27 .77 3.12
Percent selecting top category of five-point
rating scale is report for the skill and
challenge items. Percent checking yes
category of yes/no scale is reported for
remaining seven items.
18
Sources
Cherny, Lynn and Elizabeth Reba Weise, ed.,
(1996). wired_women Gender and New Realities in
Cyberspace, Seal Press The Excite Network and
Third Age Media. Online Attitudes Usage Survey.
Hoffman, Donna L. and Thomas P. Novak (1996),
Internet and Web Use in the United States
Baselines for Commercial Development. Project
2000 Report, Owen Graduate School of Management,
Vanderbilt University www2000.ogsm.vanderbilt.edu
/baseline/internet.demos.july9.1996.html