Women underestimate their online skills

This isn't surprising in that men seem to define "online," at least the way it's treated in the media (meaning the way it is spoken of). However, in terms of how "online" is used, Web skills in a practical sense, I think women aren't simply as skilled, but more likely to use it in practical ways. (I've seen studies that reflect this - women see it as a tool, something functional. The "neat" factor is less significant for them.)

I think women see it more as a tool for communication and getting things done (banking, etc.). Whereas men are often fascinated by the cool elements, whether they have any practical application or not.

For me, I still see the Web as primarily a means of communicating (though it has many other aspects). Yet what I see is (and some of this is reflected here on Newsvine) women are more inclined to exchange ideas and discuss, where men are more inclined to state and declaim. I think there is something to the argument that says women are better skilled as communicators.

However, since men tend to make more noise about tech things, and yak about them more, some women may get a sense that they aren't as skilled, or at least knowledgable, as men when that's not really the case. Thus you find a study like this.

I think a lot has to do with the level of self confidence. I've not known many women software developers. I assume there must be some somewhere, but most of the online projects I've been involved with had male developers. The main thing I've noticed is that many developers are notoriously bad at communicating with their project's online communities, as well as doing the documentation. I've also noticed that this can be mitigated by getting some women on the development team. I think user interface design could also use more input from women, for the most part. Of course, I'm speaking in broad generalizations here, but based on about ten years of my experiences online.