© 2005 JITI Journal of Information Technology Impact Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 81-98, 2005 Gender Influence on the Internet: Usage in Southwestern Nigeria Boniface Kayode Alese 1 S. O. Owoyemi 2 M. O. Ajayi 3 Federal University of Technology Nigeria Abstract Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the vehicle for productivity, improvement and innovation. In every sector of life – private, public, health, economy, education, social and political etc, ICT is now perceived as a tool for potentially transforming relationships among all the stakeholders. In this article we study gender influence on Internet usage. Nine factors were identified from female usage profiles while eight factors were extracted from male usage profiles. However, three attributes were found to be common to both sex usage profiles, though with varying degree of strength. Keywords: Male, female, network usage, usage factors, sex disparity. Introduction Gender concerns involve women as well as men. Understanding gender means understanding opportunities and constraints as they affect both women and men (UNFPA, 2000). In his submission Riley (1997) opined that gender affects both (i) “power to” go to school, inherit land, or enter or refuse marriage which often requires access to social resources such as education, money, land, or time; and (ii) “power over” which provides ability to assert one’s wishes and goals even in the face of opposition from others. It has been noted that gender disparities were closely associated with poverty, and that the gap between women and men in education, and health was greater in poor countries than in reach ones. Such countries have had to pay a notable price for it in greater poverty, slower economic growth, weaker governance, and a lower quality of life (Daily Times, 2001). Around the world, men have been found to dominate the economy and most social institutions. Potentials of women are often under-utilized and where they contribute, their contributions are undervalued. According to Riley (1997), women are less likely to develop individual characteristics (such as higher levels of education) that would give them access to better paying jobs or political office or enhance their power.