Gender Gap with Computer Use

I read an article called "Information Technology and Gender Equality: A Contradiction in Terminis?" written by Ingeborg Janssen Reinen and Tjeerd Plomp. This article described the fact that females know less about information technology, computers specifically, and enjoy using computers less than males. Some of the factors discussed in the article included different access availability, different socialization experiences, lack of female rolemodels in the classroom, organizational issues with the school itself (such as timetables), the type of computer use (meaning which classes and activities), and the student's attitude and ability towards computers.


It was found that in most countries, females enjoy using computers less than males do and know less about computers than males do. Male access to computers was also found to be significantly higher than female. The number of participants in activities that require computer use was also higher for males. In all participating countries except the USA and Bulgaria, females scored lower on the FITT test. Even in countries considered to be very gender equal, males still use computers more than females.

I had no idea there was such a gap between genders in the use of computers. The article was published in 1997 and I think things have changed a bit since then. It seems to me that females are closing the gap on males.

Here's the link to the article in case anyone wants to check it out :)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VCJ-3SWXXN4-1-1&_cdi=5956&_user=443835&_orig=search&_coverDate=02%2F28%2F1997&_sk=999719997&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkWz&md5=a8af4e2be4d4787566337e6c17f78ee3&ie=/sdarticle.pdf