WOMEN, E-COMMERCE, AND COVID-19 POLICY RESPONSES: A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW OF GENDERED OUTCOMES IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/AIJBES.829123Keywords:
COVID-19, Digital Divide, E-Commerce, Food Security, Gender, Literature Review, Policy, Women EntrepreneursAbstract
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated global e-commerce adoption, creating both opportunities and challenges for women entrepreneurs. This study critically reviews the gendered outcomes of e-commerce adoption during the pandemic, focusing on policy responses influencing women's digital economic participation and food security. It offers a new understanding of how digital exclusion, gendered policy blind spots, and food systems intersect to create a 'triple burden' for women. Methodology: A critical literature review was conducted using peer-reviewed articles, books, and institutional reports from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and institutional databases. Publications from 2015 to 2026 were identified using keywords related to women entrepreneurs, e-commerce, COVID-19 policy responses, and food security. The analysis integrates Gender and the Digital Economy, Feminist Political Economy, and Digital Divide Theory to construct a multi-level framework linking structural inequalities to entrepreneurial outcomes..Findings: E-commerce served as an essential mechanism for women entrepreneurs to sustain businesses and maintain food supply chains during pandemic disruptions. Thematic analysis identified three interrelated challenges: (1) persistent gender-based digital and financial inequalities; (2) limited policy responsiveness to women's specific needs, particularly unpaid care work; and (3) weak integration of digital inclusion with food-security objectives. Consequently, while digital platforms offered a lifeline, they often reinforced existing vulnerabilities rather than transforming them.Originality/Value: This review demonstrates that women's digital economic participation is a structural development issue, not merely technological. It offers a new theoretical integration explaining why digital inclusion policies frequently fail to improve food security outcomes for women—specifically because they ignore the feedback loop between social reproduction and digital resilience..Conclusion: Sustainable digital inclusion requires coordinated investments in digital capability, financial inclusion, care infrastructure, and gender-responsive policies. Future strategies should integrate gender equality, food security, and digital capability as interconnected priorities.
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