Electronic discussion groups and women library/information professionals : their experiences and the gender question

Abstract

Scholarly research into the investigation of computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a relatively new area, and as more professionals start to use and participate in this form of communication, studies have started to show a trend of gender bias and male domination in networked applications of CMC. Research findings from the academic fields of Women's Studies, Communications, and Library and Information Science have shown that men dominate computer-mediated interaction much as they dominate face-to-face interaction; by talking more, by taking an authoritative stance in public discourse, and by verbally harassing and intimidating women into accommodation or silence. The central problem of this study was to investigate and determine if New Zealand women library/information professionals encounter or experience gender bias such as sexual harassment, harassment, flaming, marginalisation or monopolisation by men in CMC. The aim of the study was to uncover the issues and experiences women library/information professionals encounter when using electronic discussion groups, by focusing on gender bias, gender harassment and gender dynamics of CMC. The research methodology selected for this study was a qualitative approach, collecting data through interviews that obtained the experiences and perspectives of ten women. The preliminary findings showed that the majority of women library/information professionals in New Zealand have not experienced any forms of gender-based discrimination in the discussion groups they subscribed to. On the few occasions that were reported, it came up in the non-work related or social electronic discussion groups, and in the larger international work related groups that they subscribed to. The current study also highlights other areas for additional research. These include investigating why women library/information professionals predominantly lurk in discussion groups and why a high percentage of women library/information professionals initially contacted to participate in the study did not subscribe or belong to any electronic discussion groups.