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Gender and computer-mediated communication

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Abstract

A case study analyzed employees' attitudes toward, and experiences with, an intraorganizational electronic mail system. Results revealed that females perceived e-mail to be easier to use, more efficient, and more effective than males. They also gave higher ratings of appropriateness for using e-mail to transmit certain types of messages. Females (particularly managers) were more likely than their male counterparts to rely on co-workers to learn how to use e-mail. More females used the computer system for word processing, while more males and whites (who comprised 82.2% of the sample) had off-site connections to the computer system. No other distinctions were found regarding race—ethnicity. Implications for future research are discussed.

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The author is grateful to Karen Tracy, Robert Craig, and anonymous reviewers for their insights and suggestions.

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Allen, B.J. Gender and computer-mediated communication. Sex Roles 32, 557–563 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544189

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544189

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