When does gender matter online? Digital maturity and economic participation in later life

Gender inequality in digital participation is commonly treated as a persistent and universal feature of contemporary societies. This article challenges that assumption by examining whether gender differences in older adults’ online purchasing and online selling participation and their association with national e-commerce outcomes vary across national digital contexts. Focusing on adults aged 55–74 in European Union countries during 2016–2024, the study develops a regime-based perspective in which digital inequality is understood as embedded in distinct configurations of digital maturity. Empirically, the analysis combines fuzzy c-means clustering with fixed-effects regression. Countries are classified into four digital maturity regimes using indicators of digital skills barriers, social networking, online learning, online purchasing, online selling, and e-commerce activity. The findings show that gender inequality in digital economic participation is not uniformly distributed across Europe. Instead, it is most pronounced in transitional digital maturity regimes, while it is weak or statistically absent in both digitally lagging and highly mature environments. By reconceptualizing gender inequality in later-life digital economic participation as a regime-contingent rather than universal outcome, the article contributes to research on digital inequality, ageing, and the digital economy while highlighting the need for regime-sensitive digital inclusion policies.