Women and the Internet: Is There an Economic Payoff?

As the pervasiveness of the Internet spreads rapidly, Peter Drucker’s prediction about the coming of the new organization, labeled as the “knowledge society ” [7] or the “virtual corporation ” [9] is now a reality. In an information-based economy, any rad-ical shift in our approach toward information and knowledge influences more than an elite group of individuals or firms—it has a far-reaching effect on national and global economies. The Internet is viewed by many as a paradigm shift forcing indi-viduals, firms, businesses, and even societies to rapidly adapt to a newfound virtual world in which agility and responsiveness are the hallmarks of success [5]. At a 1999 meeting of Congress’s Joint Economic Committee Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told committee members: “We will absolutely see productivity increases coming out of the use of technology for many years to come. ” At same meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the panel that “something special has happened to the American economy in recent years because of computerization. ” That “something special ” was the increased productivity generated by the Internet and information technology [10]. Bureau of Labor Statistics data at least superficially support this link