Mature and Internet Enabled Communication Technologies: Insights into the Impact of Gender on Legislator Communications

UNCP Author/Contributor (non-UNCP co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dr . Emily Neff-Sharum, Department Chair and Associate Professor (Creator)
Dr . Joe F. West, Assistant Professor and MPA Director (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP )
Web Site: http://www.uncp.edu/academics/library

Abstract: This United States wide survey, sent to all 7,3831 state legislators, examines how state legislator gender impacts the frequency of use and importance of communication technologies (CTs)commonly used by state legislators. The study compares the frequency of use and importance of evolutionarily mature CTs such as face-to-face meetings, handwritten letters, and phone conversations and Internet enabled CTs (IECTs) such as E-Mail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,web pages, Blogs, and text messaging. The study uncovers evidence that: 1) Female legislators both use and more highly value Internet enabled communication technologies more than male legislators, 2) Female legislators communicate more frequently with other legislators via E-Mail,Twitter, Facebook, web pages, blogs, and text messaging than male legislators, 3) Female legislators communicate more frequently with their constituents via hard-copy letters, E-Mail,Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, text messaging, and press releases than male legislators. With respect to CT importance, we find that: 1) Male legislators find face-to-face communications more important when communicating with peers and the telephone more important when communicating with constituents than do female legislators while 2) Female legislators find E-Mail, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and text messaging more important when communicating with peers than male legislators and hard-copy letters E-Mail, Twitter, and Facebook more important when communicating with constituents than male legislators. Our research shows support that the concept of tokenism is reflected in how female legislators communicate.

Additional Information

Publication
2016 Midwest Political Science Association Conference
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
State Legislators, Female Legislators, Male Legislators, Gender Differences, Communication Technologies (CTs), Internet Enabled Communication Technologies (IECTs), Face-to-Face Meetings, Handwritten Letters, Telephone Conversations, E-Mail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Web Pages, Blogs, Text Messaging

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