Understanding the gender divide in digital literacy in four European countries: a comprehensive decomposition analysis using unconditional quantile regression

Digital literacy is crucial for adolescents’ future, yet significant gender divides persist, particularly in Computer and Information Literacy (CIL) and Computational Thinking (CT). This study examines the gender divide in CIL and CT among adolescents in four European countries, highlighting the gender-based disparities in digital literacy development.

Based on ICILS 2018 data, this research identifies factors contributing to gender divides in CIL and CT using regression and decomposition methods. Findings indicate that females outperform males in CIL, while males excel in CT. Gender divides decrease as the percentiles of students’ proficiency levels increase. The explained portion of the gender divide in CIL and CT is consistently smaller than the unexplained portion across countries, suggesting that gender divide or unobserved factors may drive these divides. A comparison of OLS regression results with decomposition approaches indicates that the factors influencing digital literacy development differ from those contributing to the gender divide. Variation in the factors contributing to gender divides is greater across countries than within countries for both CIL and CT.

These findings highlight the need to consider national digital environments and socio-cultural contexts in addressing gender divides in digital literacy. This study offers insights for policymakers and educators to address the gender divide in digital literacy.