- **Epistemic status:** #evergreen The digital divide refers to the gap between those who have access to the internet benefiting from the digital age and those who do not. In 2014, 42% of the world (three billion people) have access to the internet, but the digital divide still excludes a bit more than half of the world's population. Particularly women, and especially in Africa. ## Racial Divide Communities of color in the United States are affected because of wealth inequality and structural discrimination on industries such the banking and credit. > Using the demographic groupings reported in the Census, based on the racial and ethnic categories in which Census takers can choose to self-identify, we observe significant gaps in home-internet adoption among different populations. While 81 percent of Whites and 84 percent of Asians have home internet, only 70 percent of Hispanics, 68 percent of Blacks, 72 percent of American Indian/Alaska Natives, and 68 percent of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders are connected at home. These gaps are similar when we examine household-level internet adoption. Wired adoption levels also are lower for households reporting in these same four racial/ethnic categories, and the magnitude of the gaps between Whites and members of these other races/ethnicities is even greater for wired access than it is for general home internet access. (Free Press in "Digital Denied: The Impact of Systemic Racial Discrimination on Home-Internet Adoption" [[#^ac7735]]) ![[Pasted image 20211101084331.png]] Illustration from [freepress report digital denied](https://www.freepress.net/sites/default/files/legacy-policy/digital_denied_free_press_report_december_2016.pdf) Wired ISPs require a credit check to allow their services to be used since they don't want to offer a prepaid type of service, exacerbating existing racial disparities in credit scoring, housing and other economic sectors according to Turner. The report also suggests that ISPs infrastructure and broadband deployment investing decisions are linked to race and ethnicity. ## Disability Divide According to The Pew Research Center, 54% of households with a person who has a disability have home Internet access, compared to 81% of households that have home Internet access and do not have a person who has a disability [[#^2d0703]]. Individuals with disabilities such as having blindness, deafness, or cognitive problems can be at a disadvantage due to the lack of accessible sources of information and technology. A concerning thought is that with the increase use of technology in society if it will offer opportunities or if it leads to further inequality leaving these individuals behind. The perception of society of disabilities, federal and state government policies, corporate policies, mainstream computing technologies, and real time communication contribute to the impact of the digital divide to individuals with disabilities. Often online, individuals with disabilities are targets of abuse. Online disability hate crimes have increased by 33% across the UK between 2016–17 and 2017–18 according to a report published by Leonard Cheshire, a health and welfare charity [[#^550cc9]]. This often results in discouraging people from engaging online and learning new information that could improve their lives. ## Gender Gap Society correlates technology to the male gender, since computers have traditionally been presented as a toy for boys when they were children. This divide grows larger as children grow older, and young girls are not encouraged to pursue degrees in IT or computer science. In 1990, the percentage of women in a computing job was 36%, however, in 2016, the number had fallen to 25%. --- ## References - ["Americans living with disability and their technology profile"](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/01/21/americans-living-with-disability-and-their-technology-profile/). _Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech_. Washington. January 21, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2020. ^2d0703 - “Digital Divide.” In _Wikipedia_, October 27, 2021. <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Digital_divide&oldid=1052060767>. - “Digital_denied_free_press_report_december_2016.Pdf.” Accessed November 1, 2021. <https://www.freepress.net/sites/default/files/legacy-policy/digital_denied_free_press_report_december_2016.pdf>. ^ac7735 - ["Online hate crime against disabled people rises by a third"](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/may/10/online-hate-against-disabled-people-rises-by-a-third). _The Guardian_. May 10, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2020. ^550cc9 - “Systemic Racial Discrimination Worsens the US Digital Divide, Study Says.” Accessed November 1, 2021. <https://www.vice.com/en/article/aek85p/systemic-racial-discrimination-worsens-the-us-digital-divide-study-says>. - Mundy, Liza (April 2017). ["Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women?"](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/why-is-silicon-valley-so-awful-to-women/517788/). _The Atlantic_. Retrieved April 17, 2020.