Democracy & Human Rights

Technology is gendered. It may be treated as neutral, but its application and support through government policy impact gendered identities, needs and priorities. South Korea’s pandemic response and post-pandemic strategy have inadvertently reversed the nation’s progress in promoting gender equality. This article reviews two gendered experiences of the digital transformation precipitated by Covid-19. It points out the absence of gender inclusion in the national policy advocating digital transformation, and the resulting marginalisation of women. 

The internet we have today has become as real as any social spaces we occupy in-person. So much of our lives are integrated digitally now and opting out of the digital space is no longer a choice for us. Today, to be online is to exist and to be seen.

8 March is International Women’s Day. Dr Ruby Lai shares her viewpoints on abortion and reproductive rights in Hong Kong and East Asia. 

Efforts to follow social distancing and mask-wearing rules have been crucial to South Korea’s success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic, but experts worry that other measures—such as sharing data from confirmed cases—have stigmatised and harmed marginalised communities. 

2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the landmark United Nations Security Council resolution on Women, Peace and Security. What still needs to evolve in countries in Northeast Asia to realise the resolution’s goals?   

India’s sex workers were vulnerable even before the pandemic.

It was a long way before the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 on the prevention of war and sexual violence against women got on track. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the resolution, Barbara Unmüßig speaks about what steps and actions have to be taken to approach the goal of female participation in phases of conflict.

On 31 October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted the Landmark Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was signed. On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, this dossier presents women from 20 different countries involved in peace and security.  

Increased use of digital communication tools during the Covid-19 lockdowns has made working from home acceptable – and even more sociable – for many people with disabilities. But technology still has a long way to go toward inclusion. A storyteller, a sales development researcher, a product and graphic designer, and a writer talk about the pros and cons. 

The coronavirus pandemic – just like society – runs along fault lines of gender, race, class and other inequalities. With women over-represented in vulnerable frontline jobs, there are fears that technologies proposed to tackle the pandemic could inflict harms that differ based on gender.