Short abstract:

In the interection between Feminist STS Studies and the sociology of work and time use from a gender perspective, this paper provides evidences about the implications of digital inclusion from a feminist intersectional approach

Long abstract:

The research aims to understand the meanings of Internet use and its implications regarding gender and social class inequalities for adult women who have participated in digital inclusion programs. The theoretical perspective guiding the research is a combination of the intersectional feminist perspective that considers both structural inequalities and those that explore the normatization of subjectivities in women.

The methodological development, based on a qualitative approach, consisted of two phases. A first exploratory phase considered the field of analysis, specifically the framework of digital inclusion programs, and a second phase of field work involving 49 women was carried out using episodic socio-biographical interviews and discussion groups. The interview sample consisted of 35 participating women and was based on a typological theoretical sampling considering social class, employment situation, and family responsibilities. Likewise, three discussion groups were held: one with a group of unemployed working-class women, another with immigrant women, and a third with inactive middle-class women.

The results show that the meaning of Internet use, as well as its implications, is not unequivocal or uniform, but is crossed by the different axes of social inequality.

In conclusion, although the digital inclusion of women has reduced the digital identity divide, inequalities related to the most structural aspects of both class and gender persist, are reproduced in the use of the Internet and the results, and even expand. This leads us to suggest a reformulation of digital policies that takes into account the intersectional feminist perspective.