GenderIT.org

The internet has been identified as the most powerful tool and dubbed “a global resource”, similar to how electricity changed lives in the 20th century. While internet penetration is increasing rapidly, most developing countries are still working on how to get everyone connected and at the same time coping with the need for good policies for a safer internet. With increase in usage, gaining...

In 2012, the multinational supermarket chain Target sent targeted advertisements for maternity products to women, none of whom had disclosed to the supermarket that they were pregnant. This targeting was based on the volunteered and behavourial data of its customers with regard to 25 products, which enabled Target to assign its customers an automated “pregnancy prediction” algorithmic score...

In the last five years, reports on connectivity around the world show remarkable progress: those of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recorded a year-on-year increase of 9% and 20%, respectively, in fixed and mobile broadband subscriptions, while this growth is even stronger in the global South. However, as levels of access to the internet increase, there is growing concern about ...

In the preceding three columns of this monthly series we introduced the way the Local Access Network project brings a feminist perspective to advocating for community networks in the global South, and highlighted the low representation of women in the regulatory and policy space and in regional and global movements. One of the Local Access Network project’s four activities is 'case studies an...

Here are some tips and insights on how to use social media for activism and movement building. These are learnings from the vocal and active African feminists who have used the internet and social media to amplify their causes. The fact that social media is nominally free to use – and we say nominally because we have to be aware that we provide our data to corporate bodies that own the social...

The international consultation spaces are being used to advocate and push for complementary approaches to internet provision to the dominant paradigm of mobile operators meeting this need. Community networks (CNs) are being rationalised and grouped as the latest of social movements, where a group of committed institutions and individuals are collectively working towards alternative telecom mech...

Targeting "the gap" between women and men in access to the internet is fundamental in reaching the goal of access for all. In an article for the Alliance for Affordable internet, the Web Foundation argues that the indicator of this gap should be calculated relative to a women-centred reference when the intention is to focus on the disparity and disadvantages faced by women. Gender internet...

This column series begins with looking at community networks through the prism of community and gender. The first column sets up what is a community network and what is its "value" or importance in the current media and technology landscape, and the shifting importance of gender within this discourse. In this interview, Kathleen Diga, Nic Bidwell along with Namita Aavriti have a conversation wi...