Blackwell Reference Online

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New information and communication technologies (ICT) challenge and have the potential to promote change in women's social status and socioeconomic opportunities in various ways. Some sociologists argue that innovative ICT embody the key characteristics required to provide women with effective opportunities to participate in mainstream economic activities in Asian societies, others that ICT are yet another tool of masculinized social, economic, and political power that is merely perpetuating gender differentiation. “Asia” cannot be fully defined but the term is a useful shorthand to describe the array of countries whose economies now engage with ICT. “Asia” can encompass Japan, Singapore, and South Korea as three of the world's most technologically developed nations. Asian countries in general hold leading positions in the ICT arena, and nations such as India are sites for technology industries and practices that add significantly to the region's economies, societies, and cultures. While “women” cannot be considered a homogeneous group, “gender” is one of the major ways that humans organize their lives. Many Asian sociologists link ICT to the analytical prism of “gender” to add detail to the social practices that imbricate ICT usage, examine the ways these may be shaped by gendered and cross-cultural difference, assess the potential for marginalization of some social groups via ICT ... log in or subscribe to read full text