Digital Gender
Gender has always played a role in every little thing we do. Although there has been progress with issues pertaining to gender equality, sexism continues to be an issue. Women are seen to be less capable than men and are treated unfairly and it is easily seen with the development of the digital world. From being mistreated during online gaming to unequal representation in the workforce, women continue to break boundaries and fight to hold a place in the digital world.
The role of women in the digital world may have grown throughout the years but they still fight in order to be taken seriously. In the gaming community, it is seen as a predominantly male-oriented environment and females are shut out because they are seen as inexperienced. Some women sometimes mask their true identity in order to be able to play with men and be taken seriously. But the gaming community is easily misunderstood. There are a greater number of women who game than people assume, leading to the questioning of the correct targeted audience (See The Washington Post article for more details). An example as to how women are mistreated in the digital world are through jobs themselves. Women are tremendously underrepresented in the digital workforce. In general, very few people study computer science and obtain a degree and of those people only a small percentage are women. From those women with a computer science degree, only a handful go on to pursue a career in technology and media. Studies show that women are less likely to pursue a career in coding due to late exposure. Curriculum in middle school and high school does not require courses in computer science so most young adults are introduced to the subject too late. But due to cultural history, males are introduced to coding and computer science earlier than women and practice at a young age and pursue a career in the future. So what can we do as a society to encourage female participation in the digital world?
In Donna Haraway’s article, A Cyborg Manifesto, she explains that humans need to be more like cyborgs in order for the world to progress. A cyborg is a hybrid between mechanical and organic components and like cyborgs, we as humans need to stop seeing things as black and white and start seeing the in between. Throughout history, society has influenced the way individuals think and act, feeding into our minds stereotypes — especially centered around gender and identity. In order to break the stereotypes — especially about women in the digital world — we must stray away from what society has taught us and begin to create our own definitions, “stereotypes”, and identities. There are ongoing movements and organizations that fight for gender equality in the digital world. An organization called, Women Who Code, is a global non-profit organization that is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring women to excel in technology careers. It is up to us as individuals to stop following the norm of genders and stand up and fight for recognition and equality.
