  It is well known that networks generated by common mechanisms such as
preferential attachment and homophily can disadvantage the minority group by
limiting their ability to establish links with the majority group. This has the
effect of limiting minority nodes' access to information. We present the
results of an empirical study on the equality of information access in network
models with different growth mechanisms and spreading processes. For growth
mechanisms, we focus on the majority/minority dichotomy, homophily,
preferential attachment, and diversity. For spreading processes, we investigate
simple vs. complex contagions, different transmission rates within and between
groups, and various seeding conditions. We observe two phenomena. First,
information access equality is a complex interplay between network structures
and the spreading processes. Second, there is a trade-off between equality and
efficiency of information access under certain circumstances (e.g., when
inter-group edges are low and information transmits asymmetrically). Our
findings can be used to make recommendations for mechanistic design of social
networks with information access equality.
