RightsCon Toronto 2018

Digital innovation is bringing many benefits to the world, but the online world in which that innovation happens is also playing a significant role in amplifying inequalities, prejudice, sexism and harassment. From new forms of employment, labour and access, to pervasive surveillance, unfettered data collection and challenges of privacy, the online ecosystem is disrupting power relations, but also entrenching unequal gender dynamics. Many women, girls and other marginalized communities around the world do not have equal levels of access to, nor the skills to use, digital tools. But the deeper, sometimes unspoken, problem is that those who do acquire access and digital skills can face other challenges such as privacy invasion or harassment and bullying that seeks to marginalize female or feminist voices. Worries about surveillance, or privacy, or being taunted online can have a chilling effect, particularly on those who are already vulnerable.

But what are the policy options to address these challenges, and how can research support these policy processes? We know that sometimes policies meant to address vulnerable populations online can become tools for deeper, more invasive surveillance and censorship. The purpose of this session is to build a better understanding of the frontier issues in feminist/gender-related issues online – from access and labour, to digital rights, to supporting more inclusive and safe online spaces – and what the evidence base looks like on these issues. We want to hear about and discuss how researchers and civil society actors are working to counter the marginalization of women, girls and gender non-conforming voices, and how we can develop programming that supports and empowers feminist voices. But moreover, we want to push the boundaries of the discussion around these frontier issues – from data privacy to artificial intelligence. We are bringing together panelists who work on a broad range of gender-related and/or feminist issues in technology, and will explore the kinds of policy research that can help support inclusion.