Exploring Gender and Technology in Latin America

A spotlight on Derechos Digitales, a Ford-Mozilla Open Web Fellowship host organization

In Peru, Django Girls Arequipa runs free workshops for women that teach HTML, CSS, Python, and Django.

In Ecuador, Empoderamiento de la Mujer raises awareness about women’s rights online and off, from privacy to freedom from harassment.

And in Guatemala, Ciberfeministas hosts digital security training for female journalists and Wikipedia editors.

Across Latin America, a growing number of communities, nonprofits, and collectives are addressing issues at the intersection of technology and gender. This movement comes at a critical time: Injustice and insecurity on the internet are increasing, and women are often disproportionately the targets of harassment, surveillance, and violent threats. “There is no separation between offline and online violence,” explains María Paz Canales, executive director of the human rights organization Derechos Digitales.

Recently, Derechos Digitales mapped the landscape of women-led organizations standing up for human rights online. Derechos Digitales is based in Chile, and is a Ford-Mozilla Open Web Fellowship host organization.

The resulting census was published as a report titled “Latin America in a Glimpse: Gender, Feminism, and the Internet in Latin America.” “It focuses on initiatives related to feminism, and the empowerment of women through technology,” Canales explains.

Canales said the research uncovered a flourishing network: “We found a vibrant movement of groups across Latin America that show how there is an impulse to redefine the use of the technology from a feminist perspective. We found women and allies working to make the promise of the free and open internet a reality for black, indigenous, urban, and rural women, as well as LGBTQI communities.”

In total, the report spotlights 27 groups in 14 countries. There are coding webinars from Venezuela, technology clubs in Costa Rica, and a transfeminist co-op in Argentina. These groups are led by researchers, engineers, and activists. “There’s a big variety of initiatives,” Canales says, “but in some sense, they’re all connected.”

Derechos Digitales’ long-term goal is to fuel a network of like-minded people and principles. “The main objective is building a community,” Canales says. “Hopefully we can foster an exchange of ideas.”

This work is already underway, Canales notes: “We are part of the Internet es Nuestra Coalition based in Mexico City, along with six other organizations. We are monitoring legislation related to online violence with a gender perspective.” Derechos Digitales is also collaborating on a digital security project with collectives in Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia and Chile, and Catalonia. The project, titled Ciberseguras, will launch this March.

As for the report itself, it’s likely the first of many. Canales imagines this feminist-focused publication expanding year after year. “We have much to learn from these initiatives, these practices and routines,” she says. “Maybe sooner rather than later we will have a feminist and fairer internet where algorithms consider and reflect diversity. The internet would be a safer space for anyone.”