Abstract: The enhancement of intelligence is rapidly changing the way we work and live, and an individual's knowledge of digital technologies will increasingly affect the extent to which they enjoy the right to work. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of digital technologies in the world of work, and has made the impact of the gender digital divide on women’s right to work more visible. In the post-pandemic era, it is important and necessary to narrow the gender digital divide in order to better guarantee women’s right to work. This paper will examine how the digital divide affects women’s right to work specifically, analyze its underlying causes from a feminist perspective, and discuss how we should narrow the gender digital divide from a legal and policy perspective to better protect women’s right to work in the post-pandemic era. Firstly, this paper examines how the digital divide affects women’s right to work specifically, including in the areas of employment rights, unpaid care work, employment discrimination, job security, access to employment services and training, and equitable and decent working conditions. Secondly, the  paper analyses the manifestations of the gender digital divide and its underlying causes from a feminist and technological perspective, pointing out that the gender digital divide is a result of social construction and that the solution must begin with breaking down this social construction. Thirdly, this paper analyses the root causes of bridging the gender digital divide, taking into account relevant international legal documents and drawing on existing good practices, and discusses how we should narrow the gender digital divide and better guarantee women’s right to work in the post-pandemic era through legislation and policies.

 

Key words: digital divide; feminism; women’s rights; right to work

 

 

*About the author: Lu Haina, doctor of laws, Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium; associate professor and PhD supervisor, School of Law, Renmin University of China; director, Human Rights Research Centre, Renmin University of China (National Human Rights Education and Training Base, Ministry of Education of China). E-mail: luhaina123@sina.cn.