Gender and Social Media. Perspectives of researchers and non-university teachers in the dissemination and access to science in Spain

Abstract

Social networks have become key tools for the dissemination of research and access to science for researchers and non-university professors. However, there is a digital and gender gap between men and women in this group. The objective of this quantitative research with a gender perspective is to understand how researchers and professors perceive and use social networks to transmit the knowledge they generate. To this end, a validated survey was administered to 486 researchers and 463 non-university professors (256 and 277 women respectively). The results show that there is no positive perception of the usefulness of social networks for dissemination, disclosure and access to scientific knowledge because traditional formats prevail, they are used more for dissemination than for disclosure and they are not used intensively or extensively. This fact favours the invisibility and academic-professional trajectory of women researchers and the loss of access to knowledge by non-university professors. It is recommended to increase training and promote a cultural and organizational transformation of educational institutions to ensure a more intense and continuous use of social networks to promote the participation of women in science, innovation and training