Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (5): 88-106.

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Does Internet Reproduce Gender Inequality? A Study on Internet Use Wage Premium

ZHUANG Jiachi1, LIU Aiyu2, SUN Chao3   

  1. 1. Department of Sociology, Peking UniversityAuthor;
    2. Department of Sociology, Peking UniversityAuthor;
    3. Department of Sociology, Peking University
  • Online:2016-09-20 Published:2016-09-20

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Abstract:

Internet has changed our working life dramatically in the last few decades. Internet use wage premium refers to the positive return of internet use on wage. This study attempts to examine the impact of internet use on gender inequality in China by analyzing the data from the Third Chinese National Survey on Women's Social and Economic Status. Propensity Scores indicate that people who use internet have 1.38 times more income than people who do not. Although men and women today have relatively equal internet access, internet use wage premium remains gender differentiated. The return of internet use on income for women is 90.6% of that for men. Different kind of internet usages result in different returns as well. Men are more likely to use internet for learning and career advancement than women. Women who use internet for the same purpose have higher wage premium than women who use internet primarily for entertainment. We find that women who believe in gender equality are predisposed to use internet for self-betterment. The study aims to explain the effect of cultural values on people's preference and types of internet usage, and how it become an important source and mechanism of reproducing gender inequality in cyberspace.

Key words: internet, wage premium effect, gender conception, gender inequality