WG9.8 Gender, Diversity and ICT
est. 2001, 2009, 2019
Chair: Sisse FINKEN; Vice-chair: Johanna SEFYRIN; Secretary: Charles ESS
AIMS
This WG is dedicated to research and action regarding how gender and diversity are accounted for and/or come into being in close relations with the social and material world, including not least digital technologies. It is based on the integration of gender studies and fields concerned with ICT, such as informatics, digital design, computer sciences, etc. Membership in WG 9.8 is inclusive.
In this context the WG aims to
- serve as an international, interdisciplinary communication forum and to hold discussions in workshops and conferences,
- exchange experiences of gender and diversity as scholars and professionals in information technology,
- integrate feminist perspectives into fields concerned with ICT, such as informatics, digital design, computer sciences, etc.
- develop an understanding in the IFIP communities and national bodies of gender and diversity aspects of design, realisation, implementation and use of information systems,
- propose and/or evaluate appropriate courses of action for fostering greater equality and diversity.
SCOPES
The topics cover the transitions from traditional gendered work to work based on modern digital technologies, from communication within personal communities to virtual communities, from traditional gendered life to new gendered perspectives. Digitalization is understood in the narrow sense of digital systems as well as in the broader sense which includes the organisational, ethical, social and material contexts of design and usage.
Discourses are linked to:
- the analysis of the deep entanglement of human beings with digital technologies, with other species, and with the world in which we live,
- the analysis of opportunities and risks of digital technologies for work in the paid labour force, in domestic and public spheres, and in national and global societies,
- the analysis of gender perspectives in the formative and constructive processes of computers and information systems,
- the analysis of gender in computing education and educational strategies.
ACTIVITIES
The WG pursues these aims by way of:
- organizing a track of papers and presentations devoted to Gender, Diversity and ICT as part of the Human Choice and Computers conferences, as part of the IFIP biennial conferences
(see, e.g., http://ifiptc9.org/hcc13/programme/#4) - promoting on-going research and dialogue on matters of Gender, Diversity, and digital technologies, e.g., through regional conferences and workshops
- fostering communication and exchange among members and interested colleagues by way of informal conversation channels,
- encouraging attention to gender diversity and ICT in diverse educational settings, including the development and offering of courses on these topics; Gender Diversity as a component of Computing Ethics courses; Gender Diversity as an explicit aim of local “teach kids coding” projects, DIY initiatives, etc.
- offering support and information to colleagues who seek to introduce Gender Diversity and related issues in their teaching and scholarship
- encouraging attention to gender and diversity with reference to locally and globally impacts of digital technologies.