Table IV.

Systemic gender barriers to ICT adoption

1st order barriers2nd order themesSystemic influences
Lack of women role modelsRole modelsSocial
Lack of women in senior leadership roles in the tech industry
Lack of women in the STEM disciplines
Conversations within women’s networks do not emphasise ITLack of emphasis
Not enough talk about IT adoption in women associations and organisations
Women rely on others to make business decisions (often spouses/partners, friends)Traditional gender role
Women are under-represented in STEM programsCredentialsEducation
Women entrepreneurs are older and thus less tech savvyAgeOwner characteristics
Younger women entrepreneurs have less barriers
Older entrepreneurs tend to delegate their need for tech to another member of the firm
It’s more of a generational issue than gender issue
Women’s lack confidenceConfidence
Women lack abilities to analyse and understand dataAbilities, skills, experience
Women rely on others for digital skills
Women lack experience and background in tech
Women are less inclined to take risksRisk aversion
Women are less open to new technologies
Lack of growth intentionBusiness orientation
Women tend to under capitalise their firms and thus have less money for IT adoption
Men and women approach technology differently
Women-led businesses tend to be smaller and thus have fewer resources for IT adoptionFirm sizeFirm characteristics
Micro-businesses have hard time seeing results brought by tech adoption
Women-owned firms are more likely to be service focussed, less likely to adopt techSector
Women are more likely to adopt technologies if other women in their sector do so

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