The Digital Gender Gap: A Sociological Review of Research and Evidence.

Abstract:

The digital gender gap, referring to systematic differences between women and men in their access to, use of, skills in, participation in, and outcomes from digital technol-ogies, represents an enduring form of inequality in modern information societies (Hat-tie, 2017;Williamson, 2017;Van Dijk, 2020). Although digital technologies have been widely adopted on a global scale, with connectivity infrastructures continuing to ex-pand, gender differences in digital engagement persist in various socio-economic and cultural settings (Alexopoulos & Christopoulou, 2018; Staikou et al., 2025). While physical access to digital devices or connectivity infrastructures is not an issue, the digital gender gap refers to multi-layered inequalities, which exist at resource, compe-tency, structural, and symbolic levels (Gee, 2007; Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2013; Hattie, 2017). The present article offers an extended, theoretically informed sociological overview of existing empirical research, particularly within the last decade, with special emphasis on: (1) conceptual definitions and theoretical frameworks (Williamson, 2017; Van Dijk, 2020); (2) empirical research on digital inequality patterns and typologies (Mou-relatos et al., 2024); (3) structural, institutional, and cultural factors (Kakavoula et al., 2026); (4) intersections with educational paths and labor market changes (Kalogeratos & Pierrakeas, 2024); and (5) policy implications and prospects for further interdiscip-linary research (Van Dijk, 2020; Theodorakopoulos et al., 2025).