Information Technology, Gender Dividend and Factor Income Distribution

This paper examines how the application of information technology in enterprises affects factor income distribution from the perspective of “gender dividend” in the workplace. In the first place, this paper conducts theoretical analysis on the economic logic of how the interaction between information technology and gender dividend affects the income distribution of enterprises, then does empirical study with the data from the China Enterprise Survey by the World Bank. It is found that: on average, information technology has a substitution effect on general labor force, reducing the labor income share. Information technology related skills, such as cognitive and social abilities, have a female-bias, so that compared to male advantage in muscle-intensive skills, females are preferred. Therefore, as the proportion of female workers increases, a good complementary effect between information technology and women’s skills can be formed, which is conducive to the increase of labor income share.The interactive effect between information technology and female dividend is amplified in capital-intensive, heavy industry, larger scale and export-oriented enterprises. This study provides new policy inspiration for how to better deal with factor income distribution and eliminate gender inequality in the new-generation information transformation.