Title: Access and equity in a technological world: an assessment of national government websites

Authors: Tony Carrizales; James Melitski

Addresses: Marist College, NY, USA ' Marist College, NY, USA

Abstract: This study seeks to inform the discussion of digital government and assess the equity of national websites through language accessibility. The research examines national government website language features to evaluate the accessibility and overall equity of digital government. A review of 193 United Nations member countries' national websites is conducted and shows the diversity in language delivery options throughout the world. The research examines the characteristics of each country along with its democratic values and e-government capacity. The findings show that some nations excel in providing extensive language options while others do not, underscoring the importance of upholding equality and accessibility in a technological world. In addition, the analysis indicates that countries with stronger democratic values and greater e-government capacity are more likely to have multilingual websites.

Keywords: e-government; technology; websites; equity; language.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2023.131725

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2023 Vol.19 No.4, pp.437 - 452

Received: 16 Mar 2021
Accepted: 27 Jun 2021
Published online: 30 Jun 2023 *

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