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Citizen Engagement

Are women better at understanding social media?

By Robin Hicks | 6 December 2010

Women are better than men at understanding and using social media, Andrea Di Maio, a government ICT analyst, suggested in a blog recently. FutureGov Asia Pacific put this theory to officials in Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands. If true, what could it mean for citizen engagement?

According to Di Maio, the fairer sex shows “a better appreciation of the potential of [social media] technologies, and a smarter way of striking a balance between internal and external collaboration and the blurring of boundaries between the two.”

He also noted that although men make up the majority of “Government 2.0 evangelists”, women are faster and nimbler “at getting to the bottom of it” on the implementation side.

Di Maio’s observations, though based entirely on one-on-one conversations (he has between 10 and 18 intensive half-hour meetings a day while at events), ring true to Craig Thomler, Gov 2.0 advocate, eGovAU blogger and Australian public servant.

Thomler told FutureGov Asia Pacific that research as well as his personal experience (he has worked as Online Communications Director in several Australian government agencies) support the idea that women are more socially orientated, and better at building and sustaining social networks in their personal and professional lives.

“If women are better at forming and maintaining communities in the physical world, it may follow that they are better at doing so in the online world,” he said.

In the context of the Japanese city of Saga, Hiroichi Kawashima, CIO and Secretary to the Governor, told FutureGov that Di Maio’s views are hard to justify.

“Civil society activities outside of government, such as IT literacy training for older people or free schooling for children with disabilities, are driven more by women than by men,” he said. “But internal open government activities are driven equally by both.”

That women show a better of the potential of social media is a reasonable idea, commented Matt Poelmans, Director of the Dutch e-Citizen Programme, Burgerlink (Citizenlink). But without evidence of exactly how women are able to, as Di Maio puts it, “get to the bottom” of social media, the idea is of little value.

“Does Andrea have convincing examples? If so, it would be worthwhile investigating exactly how women are better at using social media. The analysis should reveal which characteristics make the difference in using social media more effectively, which can be used to recruit and train the next generation of citizen engagers.”

“It’s not about gender, it’s about expertise. A man with the right qualities would, of course, be just as eligible.”

Chicks rule

Women outnumber men in the social space online. A Google survey of 17 social networks in 2009 found that male users outnumber female in only one, Digg, a social news site. The gender balance is equal in only two, LinkedIn and YouTube. Women make up 57 per cent of Facebook and Twitter, 64 per cent of MySpace, and 68 per cent of Bebo.

But Thomler suggested that the numbers are not important. “What is more interesting is how differences between people lead to different approaches to using these tools, which can provide a basis for designing tools and services which best meet the needs of different community segments.”

He added that when it comes to open government data - another key part of Government 2.0 - men are more closely associated with the activity than women. “This could be due to differences in how men and women process data, or simply due to traditional role models that have persisted into the current day,” he noted.

Could De Maio’s theory have implications for the future generation of civil servants? Datuk Arpah binti Abdul Razak (pictured), Director General, Department of local government, Malaysia, suggested that as social media use is pervasive in young people of both sexes, both girls and boys will be equally able to apply their skills when they enter the workforce.

A survey of youth in Malaysia found that 95 per cent have a Friendster account and 90 per cent were on Facebook. Young Malaysians spend 19 hours a week online; adults only 11 hours. Arpah noted: “Having had children of both sexes, I have noticed that both are extremely comfortable with social media, and use it whenever they can.”

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