Digital inclusion of businesswomen and women entrepreneurs through social networks in the informal environment

Abstract

With the diffusion of Web 2.0, opportunities for collaboration, participation and training in the professional environment have widened. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of family set-up on the use of social networks by entrepreneurial women and businesswomen. Epistemologically, the study is based on the logical positivism and the hypothetical-deductive method. From a methodological point of view, this research is quantitative and presents a descriptive design. The participants in the study are woman from Extremadura and Andalucia (Spain), 477 entrepreneurs and 126 businesswomen. The forms of use of social networks by businesswomen and women entrepreneurs varies according to age-group. However, the age does not appear to have any impact on the places where social networks are used. The results lead us to believe that, in order to attain equality in the domain of digital inclusion, it is necessary to set up formal digital training to increase their digital presence and participation.

Keywords

• digital inclusion
• businesswomen
• women entrepreneurs
• social networks
• descriptive design