In today’s world, women are asserting their rights not only in public but also in digital spaces, demanding equality across all aspects of life
Women were the original “computers.” Back in the day, in the late 1800s, these women computers worked in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, manually crunching large amounts of data through tedious computations, a task often deemed too trivial for male scientists. Somewhere between then and today, not only has our role as being seen as the backbone of STEM research diminished, but we have also lost an equal stake in the development of modern technologies.
Today, women around us actively demand equality in all aspects of life, including the digital space. Innumerable women-led protests have driven change around the world and have taken over digital spaces as well. However, relics of historical marginalisation have crept into our virtual spaces and settled as obstacles for women in their paths to achieving digital equity, as a result of which they face biases, are actively silenced, and are subject to abuse.