Is it still a man’s world? Social media news use and gender inequality in online political engagement

Abstract

Social media platforms have created new opportunities for political engagement. This has brought about a rich body of literature on the relationship between the two. However, the impact of social media on redressing or augmenting gender inequality in engagement remains underexplored. This cross-national comparative study investigates the role of social media news use in influencing gender inequality in online political engagement across three Sub-Saharan African nations: Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. An analysis of survey data suggests that there exists a gender divide in online political engagement in the three countries. Furthermore, the informational use of social media increases the likelihood of online political engagement. Still, social media news use exacerbates gender-driven engagement inequality. Finally, education reinforces the role of social media in engagement inequality such that the gender divide in online political engagement is found to be most significant among the higher than lower educated groups. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.