invisible barrier.
Why did digital development not increase women's employment?
Mina Alizadeh/publishing author.
The research of Fatemezahra Samadian, Mehbova Farahti and Majed Mada in the quarter "Studies on the Ecosystem of Innovation Economy" by examining the data of 31 districts in the years 1,395 to 1,401 shows that in their estimation, the development of the digital economy is accompanied by a decrease in the employment index of women. While women's higher education moderates this negative relationship. This result indicates the necessity of examining the conditions for turning technology into a job opportunity. There is a gap between access to the Internet and the ability to use it for income. Starting a digital business requires skill, capital, customer network and work time.
The women's labor market has faced a serious contradiction in recent years. The tools that were supposed to free work opportunities from space and time limitations did not necessarily lead to increasing the economic presence of women. The expansion of online platforms, the prevalence of internet businesses and the possibility of remote collaboration have created new forms of economic activity, but access to these opportunities is not the same for everyone. A woman with special skills, initial capital, professional connections and enough time is in a different position than a woman who spends most of her day working without pay. In such a situation, technology alone cannot eliminate previous inequalities.
Sanctions also had a significant negative impact on women's employment. Sanctions reduce the employability of companies by reducing growth, limiting investment and increasing uncertainty. We did not examine why women are affected by these conditions in a separate model. According to Samadian, one of the possible explanations is that women are more present in service and private activities and these activities are more vulnerable in periods of recession. The important point is that the period of rapid expansion of digital infrastructure coincided with a period of macro shocks. In such an economy, technology rides on a field that is itself under pressure.