TEQtogether workshop at WSIS 2019: changing men’s attitudes and behaviours to women and technology

[image error]Members of TEQtogether, working with colleagues in the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, were delighted to have convened a workshop on 11th April at WSIS 2019 in Geneva on Changing men’s attitudes and behaviours to women and technology.  This represents part of Royal Holloway, University of London’s commitment to the global EQUALS partnership designed to increase gender digital equality.  The session began with three short opening presentations:

An overview of the work of TEQtogether

informing men about how their actions impact digital gender inequality (see  Resources and Other Initiatives pages);
Identifying actions that men can take to enhance gender equality in the tech workplace (see  Guidance Notes)
Recommending actions that men can take to reduce digital violence against women
Encouraging reverse mentoring through which women mentor men at all levels in tech organisations.


An introduction to TEQtogether’s Guidance Notes by Paul Spiesberger (ict4d.at), focusing especially on guiding for when running a computer programing workshop
An overview of work on the use of mobiles for sexual harassment by Bushra Hassan (International Islamic University, Islamabad).

The main part of the workshop then built on these presentations to discuss what needs to be done to change men’s and boys’ attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls in technology.  The co-created mindmap developed during the workshop is illustrated below (link to detailed .pdf file of the mindmap).The four most important issues identified that require attention were:

Education (especially gender sensitivity materials and unconscious bias)
Family roles (especially in early life)
The resocialization of men
Tech industry and employment

A second tier of issues focused on:

Cultural change – takes time
Diversity and inclusion
Awareness raising
Role models (both men and women)
Virtual reality (so that men can experience the difficulties faced by women)
Legislation
Practical women’s empowerment.

TEQtogether is committed to take forward actions that will make a difference to all of the above, through its guidance notes and future workshops.