This article uses panel data gathered in 2001 and 2005 to assess the gendered digital divide among researchers employed in three developing countries: Ghana, Kenya, and India (the state of Kerala). We move the digital divide discussion from an early focus on differentials in adoption and access to an assessment of use as measured by the diversity and intensity of Internet and e-mail activity. Using both bivariate and multivariate analyses, our results indicate clear gender disparities within an increasingly technologically saturated environment. Over time, both women and men report significant increases in access to and use of various technologies, yet even after controlling for other factors, women continue to be less technologically oriented than their male counterparts. Although women adopt new technologies around the same time and display similar patterns of e-mail use as men, they are less intense users of both e-mail and the Web, and they use the Web less diversely than men. We conclude by suggesting possibilities for future research and significant policy implications for the assessment of the digital divide in low-income areas.
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