Gender Tech Privilege in Tech
From Gender and Tech Resources
| Title of the tutorial | Thinking through privilege in tech |
|---|---|
| Attributions | |
| Kind of learning session | Gender and Tech |
| Tutorial category | Icebreaking, Energiser |
| Duration (hours) | 0.5 |
| Learning objectives | Demonstrating physically differences in privileges with regards to technology, and thinking through how these affect access to, and presence in, the tech community |
| Prerequisites | Space to walk up and down – ideally steps, but a room with a 'baseline' marked, and space to walk forwards and backwards, would also work.
NB: not accessibility friendly, as participants need to walk forwards and backwards. |
| Methodology | Line up all participants on either a line in the middle of the room, or on the middle step.
Facilitator reads out various statements regarding access to/privilege in technology, and participants are asked to take one step forward if this is true for them, or one step back if not. Sample:
By noticing who moves forwards and backwards, and how often people swap spaces, participants are encouraged to think about their own levels of privilege within the community. At the end of the exercise, ask the participants if there were any surprises in what they saw among the group. How do they think these privileges affect their current life and work? |
| Number of facilitators involved | 1 |
| Technical needs | None, apart from space |
| Theoretical and on line resources | VERGÉS, N; HACHE, A; CRUELLS, E (2010). Deciphering LeLa's Code. Digging in the significance of the Internet for the ICT access, uses and desires of women technologists.
http://www.donestech.net/files/2DONESTECH_AOIR_EN.pdf Doubling Digital Opportunities: Enhancing the Inclusion of Women & Girls in the Information Society (by UN) : http://www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/working-groups/bb-doubling-digital-2013.pdf |