Abstract
Do information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as internet and mobile phones facilitate female labor force participation and thereby a more gender equal labor market, especially in developing countries? I empirically address this question using a panel analysis for 156 countries from the period 1991-2014. I argue that the spread of ICTs the latest years is especially beneficial for women in reducing time and mobility constraints, and inducing more women to work. This will increase the ratio of females to males in the labor force, and contribute to greater gender equality. Previous studies have been conducted based on household surveys, but few attempts have been made to systematically through the relationship between ICTs, female employment and development. I will additionally examine the impact between statuses of employment. The results from this thesis reveals that ICTs have a low, but positive contribution to gender equality in the labor market, mainly from an increase in female participation, and in developing countries also by a decrease in male. For statuses of employment gender equality is increasing with internet in all forms of employment, while mobiles have a more modest effect. The most interesting contribution from this thesis is that ICTs impact in developing countries is almost non-existing and suggests that ICTs for female empowerment and employment might not, at least not alone, be a sufficient strategy for development.