A study of gender differences in ICT competency

Over the past two decades, gender digital divide has been widely researched and discussed. Previous studies have focused on computer attitudes, anxiety, use and experience. The purpose of this study is to examine gender difference empirically in ICT competency in first year undergraduate students. The results revealed that females' scores were statistical significant higher than males' scores on five assessment components out of seven. Our conjecture, as supported by some related work in the literature, is that the social use of ICT in daily life due to the widespread of smart phones and tablets may reduce or even remove the gender digital gap.