The Gender Dimension of Using Email at Work

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The Gender Dimension of Using E-mail at Work

• Marcella Corsi mcorsi_at_luiss.it

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COMMORGs Objectiveswww.commorg.net
COMMORG aims to check for the existence of a
gender gap in the adoption of e-mail at work, and
to study its implications in terms of
substitution, identity and participation effects.
Key questions are not whether women are present
but what kind of power and influence do they
have, and whether the settings they operate
within are still largely defined by men.
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COMMORGs gender dimension

• In our project, gender issues are explicitly
  recognised, but tend to be treated as one
  dimension, rather than the sole focus, of the
  analysis. In other words, gender issues are
  explicated, but are mainstreamed into a broader
  analysis of the socio-economic changes taking
  place.

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CMC perspectives Emergent approach
Social/organisational context
E-mail features
E-mail can increase participatory relations or
reinforce command-and-control hierarchies
depending on the use and shared perception of
this medium
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Three types of communication

• Subordinates with supervisors (bottom-up)

• Supervisors with subordinates (top-down)

• Peer-to-peer

Organisational hierarchy
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Research Summary (L1 studies)

• 1 Multinational Company (4 subsidiaries GR, IT,
  NL, UK)
• Same research in each of the 4 countries
• Complementary Questionnaire Interviews
• Topics Identity, Trust and Norms, Substitution
  Participation and Decision making (PDM)
• Specific research questions

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Respondents
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Questionnaire Descriptives
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MAIN QUESTION Is there a gender gap at L1
analysis ?

To find an answer we have carried out a two-step
analysis Step 1 Study of the main gender
differences among respondents (univariate and
multivariate analysis) Step 2 taking into
account the gender profiles of respondents, study
of the gender gap according to specific research
questions
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Research questions
- Does e-mail reinforce/undermine power/status
differentials by gender? - How does the
diffusion of e-mail influence the
reconfiguration of media use by gender? - To
what extent the reduction of gender cues in
e-mail can improve equality of participation among
women and men? - Are cultural beliefs on gender
power differences lowered or not through
e-mail communication?
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Research questions
- Does gender identity correspond to commitment
to the department/organisation? - Does gender
identity correspond to trust within the
department/organisation? - Is the salience of
gender identity crucial in determining their
effects on communicating individuals?
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Step 1 Gender/sex gap among respondents

• We have identified three clusters of respondents,
  characterised by gender, age, country and
  professional status.
• Cluster 1 is a feminine group of respondents,
  best represented by young (30 under) women,
  working in the UK, involved in tasks like public
  relations and gathering knowledge, and not
  accustomed to work (and exchange work related
  email) at home or during weekends.

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Step 1 Gender/sex gap among respondents

• Cluster 2 is a male group of respondents, best
  represented by men working in the NL, involved in
  administrative tasks like administration,
  project management and personnel management.
  They are very independent in their relation with
  colleagues.
• Cluster 3 is a genderneutral group of
  respondents, best represented by people working
  in Italy, with a relatively low level of
  education (high school, technical college), but
  very influential in their relationship with
  colleagues (within and outside department),
  probably due to their seniority within the
  company.

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Step2 Gender/sex gap by RQs

• We have identified two hidden factors behind
  respondents gender profiles
• factor 1 relates to the use of e-mail in
  bottom-up communication and its properties
• factor 2 refers to the use of email and
  substitution effects.
• Men and women have very different
  characteristics according to this classification.

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Conclusions

• E-mail does not equalise organisational members
  (especially by sex).
• People participate in decision making via e-mail
  in presence of appropriate contextual factors,
  not just because of technology features
• gender, as a factor, structures
  opportunities and access