Women
and Technology in Sweden
General Background on Information Technology
in Sweden
.....Playing a major role in economic growth,
telecommunications and information technology (IT) began receiving increased
amounts of attention in the late 1990’s. Having a history of remaining
ahead of the game, Sweden began to be looked to by the international
community as a major pacesetter in the race to create fresh applications
for new technology.
.....Realizing the full potential of combining
IT and telecommunications, Swedish public agencies and companies began
to strive to integrate the two beginning in the 1970’s. Soon after,
the government- owned Swedish Telecommunications Administration and
other privately owned companies began collaborating together in order
to create numerous products and services to complement the new IT market.
Hence, in the 1980’s, the amount per capita of fixed telephone
lines and workplace computers increased to the highest it had ever been,
and by the 21st century, being one of the leading IT nations, Sweden
is among only few populations that have the highest amount per capita
of computers, PCs, cellular telephones, fixed phone lines, and internet
use (Telecommunications and Information Technology in Sweden par. 1).
Use of Information Technology in Sweden
.....Aside from Sweden’s background
with IT, in 2000, a statistical survey was produced by Statistics
Sweden, which was done to demonstrate by gender the use of computers
at home among the 16 to 64-age category. According to the survey, 21%
of women and 36% of men use a computer at home daily, 29% of women and
28% of men use a computer at home weekly, 15% of women and 9% of men
use a computer at home monthly, and 35 % of women and 27% of men do
not use a computer at home (IT Statistics par. 7).
.....In addition to the survey conducted
about the use of a computer at home, a similar survey about Internet
use was conducted, which revealed that 63% of women and 72% of men use
the Internet (par. 8). In comparison, in the United States 50% of men
and 50% of women use the Internet (Greenspan par. 4).
What Do These Statistics Tell Us?
.....Looking beyond the basic knowledge
gained by the surveys, many inferences can be made by analyzing and
comparing the statistics. By looking at the survey conducted about the
use of computers at home, it is safe to say that the statistics for
men and women using a computer at home are relatively equal, but the
gap between the percentages of men and women using a computer daily
at home is somewhat large, in those terms. From this statistical survey,
a just inference that can be made is that the women that do use a computer
at home use it more on a weekly or monthly basis, as opposed to a daily
basis.
.....In addition to the inferences made
from the survey about the use of a computer at home, by looking at the
survey conducted about Internet use, in concurrence with the United
States Internet use statistics, many more conclusions can be made. Despite
the slightly higher percentage of men’s use of the Internet in
Sweden, by analyzing the survey conducted, it is easy to say that moderately
the percentages are about the same. Furthermore, another inference that
can be made, by comparing the statistics of the Internet use in Sweden
and the U.S., is that Sweden’s percentages of the Internet use,
for both sexes, is far higher then that in the United States.
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