Gender, web presence and scientific productivity in nanoscience and nanotechnology
Digital and scientific realms are commonly believed to be gendered. The wide pervasiveness of e-science may result in an interaction between the scientific and digital gender divides, increasing the disparities against women. Selecting web-presence as a manifestation of web activity, and applying a quasi-experimental scientometric method, the present study aims to investigate the effects of the interaction, if any, on web-present females and males compared to web-absent ones in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The results show that the web-present Nanoscientists are not necessarily superior in their scientific production, though they are higher in their recognition. The web-present females and males are equal in their numbers and productions. Although the female web-present are found to be equal in their recognition to their male counterparts, there is a significant difference between the web-present and web-absent males in this regard, signifying the higher impact of the web on males recognition.
gender web presence scientific productivity nanoscience nanotechnology impact