The impact of the infocommunication process on the emergence and performance of entrepreneurial and empowered women's groups in IT

Abstract

The advent of the Internet represented a milestone in women's digital inclusion. The technological revolution resulting from a networked society, as Manuel Castells defined it in the Information Age trilogy, allowed the emergence and greater access to digital devices and computer interaction programs. Historically, technology has been consumed and produced by men and for men. The use of devices, such as smartphones, and virtual connections in online communities, supported by digital platforms, allowed a greater democratization of the access to information and feminine activism in search of inclusion in Information Technologies (IT), through groups that are articulate in online communities.In the last ten years there has been a growth in the launching of empowered and entrepreneurial women groups in IT, namely in Portugal and Brazil. In them, participants affirm identities,exchange opportunities for study and work in IT for personal and professional growth. The activism of these groups represents a silent, consistent and real revolution of social, economic, gender and cultural changes from the largest female entry into IT.This paper aims to present some of the main groups of women in Portuguese and Brazilian IT, focusing on information / narrative exchanges (production, use and reuse) between leaders, volunteers and impacted as well as evaluating the impact they have on themobilization of virtual communities on a transmission network.