Gender in the digital age: Women's participation in designing social software

Abstract

Women's participation in social network activities may be an essential condition for its maintenance. This article aims at presenting gender issues and their connection to information technology environment. In order to know what are the gender differences that should be considered in designing a Social Software, the process of creating a social network in the Web is discussed from a female perspective. Testimonies of various social actors and residents of a lower medium class peripheral neighborhood in the city of Campinas, Brazil, the Vila União, involved in the e-Cidadania project is analyzed making references to the paths chosen by the women during the design process, in the pursuit of technological knowledge required for this activity. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.