Lynette Kvasny

The challenges of redressing the digital divide: a tale of two US cities

Abstract.  In this paper, we examine efforts undertaken by two cities – Atlanta and LaGrange, Georgia – to redress the digital divide. Atlantas initiative has taken the form of community technology centres where citizens can come to get exposure to the internet, and learn something about computers and their applications. LaGrange has taken a very different approach, providing free internet access to the home via a digital cable set‐top box. Using theoretical constructs from Bourdieu, we analysed how the target populations and service providers reacted to the two initiatives, how these reactions served to reproduce the digital divide, and the lessons for future digital divide initiatives. In our findings and analysis, we see a reinforcement of the status quo. When people embrace these initiatives, they are full of enthusiasm, and there is no question that some learning occurs and that the programmes are beneficial. However, there is no mechanism for people to go to the next step, whether that is technical certification, going to college, buying a personal computer or escaping the poverty that put them on the losing end of the divide in the first place. This leads us to conclude that the Atlanta and LaGrange programmes could be classified as successes in the sense that they provided access and basic computer literacy to people lacking these resources. However, both programmes were, at least initially, conceived rather narrowly and represent short‐term, technology‐centric fixes to a problem that is deeply rooted in long‐standing and systemic patterns of spatial, political and economic disadvantage. A persistent divide exists even when cities are giving away theoretically ‘free’ goods and services.

Cultural (Re)production of digital inequality in a US community technology initiative

In the US, community technology centers (CTC) are a policy response to facilitate the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) to citizens who might otherwise lack access to these resources. The implicit assumption guiding CTC initiatives is that access to ICT will improve the life chances of the individuals who become involved in these centers. It is, however, prudent to empirically examine this assumption because the case for community technology interventions is somewhat weakened if the benefits of ICT use fail to accrue to those who are disadvantaged. Informed by Bourdieus theory of reproduction, this study of a CTC initiative in an inner-city community explores the role of culture in reproducing digital inequality. Digital inequality reflects not only disparities in the structure of access to and use of ICT; it also reflects the ways in which longstanding social inequities shape beliefs and expectations regarding ICT and its impacts on life chances. While this initiative is considered successful in the sense that it provided access and basic computer literacy to residents lacking these resources, it represents a technology-centric fix to a problem that is deeply rooted in systemic patterns of spatial, political and economic disadvantage.

Power relations in IT education and work: the intersectionality of gender, race, and class

Purpose – Social exclusion as a result of gender, race, and class inequality is perhaps one of the most pressing challenges associated with the development of a diverse information technology (IT) workforce. Women remain under represented in the IT workforce and college majors that prepare students for IT careers. Research on the under representation of women in IT typically assumes women to be homogeneous in nature, something that blinds the research to variation that exists among women. This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – The paper challenges the assumption of heterogeneity by investigating how the intersection of gender, race, and class identities shape the experiences of Black female IT workers and learners in the USA.Findings – The results of this meta‐analysis offer new ways of theorizing that provide nuanced understanding of social exclusion and varied emancipatory practices in reaction to shared group exposure to oppression.Originality/value – This study on the un...

Let the sisters speak: understanding information technology from the standpoint of the 'other'

In this paper, I examine how and why the situated knowledge and lived experiences of working-class African American women shape their standpoint on information technology (IT). Using the biblical metaphor of the exodus and narratives of ascent, these women view IT access and training as part of a strategy for escaping poverty and despair. Whereas most of the extant gender and IT research provides rich insights into the marginalization of women, the women in this study felt empowered by IT. This contradictory outcome has three implications for the study of gender and IT. First, researchers must consider the multiple identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and sexuality that shape and are shaped by womens engagement with IT. Second, the notion of IT workforce should take into account not only the highly skilled IT workers who design and build IT artifacts, but should also consider the lower skilled workers who indirectly use IT. Third, IT training programs that serve working-class women must go beyond the transfer of IT skills to individuals. They must also redress the persistent structural barriers of poverty, spatial isolation, illiteracy, sporadic work, and racial and ethnic discrimination that systematically limit womens ability to compete for jobs that provide higher incomes, greater safety, more security, full-time hours, increased benefits, higher status, and less stressful work environments.

Recruitment is never enough: retention of women and minorities in the IT workplace

Women, as well as African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans are represented in the information technology (IT) workforce in percentages that are far lower than their percentages in the population as a whole. While recruiting efforts are crucial for increasing the participation of women and minorities, it is equally important that we retain those already in the IT workforce. Here we present an assessment of the relevant literature addressing retention issues for women and minorities. Some issues that arise from this literature can be applied directly to changes that must take place in the IT workplace such as; the development of gender/race/ethnic appropriate mentors, sponsors or role models in the work environment, the development of involvement of the family and/or community in support of the work environment, the development of a nurturing work environment to offset internalized out-group status, the development of a truly multicultural work environment that values gender/race/ethnic differences, the development of recognition of and assistance with stress from financial issues and social/family obligations, and the eradication of institutional practices that marginalize women and minorities. There is a need to deepen our understanding of retention issues for women and minorities in order to inform intervention strategies. This work addresses this need by providing an in-depth examination of factors affecting attraction, development and especially retention of minorities and women in IS.

Synthesizing IT job skills identified in academic studies, practitioner publications and job ads

This research examines IT job skills across three genres of texts: scholarly articles, practitioner literature, and online job ads. The job skills are organized in three broad categories: technical, humanistic and business skills. Findings suggest that the online advertisements list a strong mix of skills in these three categories, while practitioner literature tends to focus heavily on technical skills. The most recent practitioner literature, however, notes that CIOs are increasingly demanding business acumen as well as technical skills. Project management, financial analysis, and communication skills are the most frequently cited business skills. The scholarly literature tends to lag behind in terms of specific technical skills, but reports the richest set of IT job skills across the three categories.

The Role of the Habitus in Shaping Discourses about the Digital Divide

In this ethnographic study, I examine the discourses that social agents enact as they increase their awareness of information technology (IT) and the digital divide. The social agents in this study are authorities in the municipal government and African-American adults taking part in a community technology initiative in an urban, working-class neighborhood. The findings suggest that both participants and authorities adopted a narrow perspective on IT as a production tool to support business-related skills such as word processing and spreadsheets, which were believed to broaden access to employment opportunities. Despite the rapid growth in Internet-based applications and services as a justifying discourse of the authorities who create and manage the community technology training program, computer networking was not an important part of the program curriculum. The habitus is used as a theoretical lens for explaining the prevailing perceptions of IT as a production-oriented tool, why these perceptions reflect the social milieu of urban working-class communities, and how these perceptions engender discourses that may unwittingly reinforce social inequities that structure the digital divide.

Critical research in information systems: looking forward, looking back

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to reflect on the development of critical research in information systems and give an overview of the papers chosen for this special issue.Design/methodology/approach – To set the scene by discussing the origins and the developing field of critical research in information systems and to analyse each paper, suggesting ways in which it relates to the chosen themes.Findings – The papers chosen address theoretical foundations, paradigmatic and methodological issues, empirical studies and praxis and reflexivity in critical information systems research.Originality/value – Highlights the growing interest in critical research in the information systems discipline and enables reflection on the difficulties, barriers and opportunities for development.

IT Education and Workforce Participation: A New Era for Women in Kenya?

While Sub-Saharan African women have historically assumed the roles of both housewives and subsistence farmers, they have had few opportunities to participate in the modern economies of the region. However, this trend is changing with the exponential growth of information and communications technologies (ICT), giving many Sub-Sahara African women access to computers, the Internet, and other related technologies. Based on the work of a four-member research team from Kenya and the United States, this article examines the integration of female college students into the formal ICT work sector in Kenya. We do so by examining major bottlenecks and enablers to such integration from historical and contemporary perspectives. Using an interpretive approach, we conducted 32 interviews with women in an ICT program offered by a university in Kenya. Our findings indicate that women were highly optimistic, embracing ICT as a practical mechanism for achieving entry into the labor market. However, they perceived significant structural barriers, such as public policies that failed to facilitate the development of the ICT sector, gender discrimination by employers, and training that provided them with insufficient technical skills to enable them to effectively perform in the workplace. These findings largely confirm the gendered perspectives found in similar studies conducted in other countries. However, what appear as global perspectives are informed by the local causes.

The Digital Divide at Work and Home: The Discourse about Power and Underrepresented Groups in the Information Society

The information society has often been described as a meritocracy that enables a level playing field for all participants. From this perspective, individuals from underrepresented groups can make it alongside individuals of wealth and privilege. All that is necessary is education and training, perseverance, and painstaking effort. But if as some argue, it is not a level playing field, then how do various underrepresented groups cope and compete within this power structure? To find this out, a critical analysis of the responses from underrepresented groups to the dominant discourses about power and IT was carried out. A conceptual framework based upon a study of African-American men and women in low income urban communities was applied to the findings of two different studies of gender in the IT profession. The results show a consistent pattern of response across underrepresented groups. In addition, these findings suggest that positive interventions can be applied across underrepresented groups so that IT does not become simply the latest mechanism for stratifying society.