Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Overcoming Digital Divides

Today our post from the Journal portion of (Web)Sites of Resistance focuses on Part III: Gender Disparity and Web Access. In this section, Gillian Youngs and Shireen Mitchell provide an in-depth look at some of the barriers to online feminist organizing.

Youngs argues that, while "feminism is alive and well, evolving and changing in these cybertimes," divisive social and global inequalities are also in danger of growing if "the kinds of warnings about exclusion that feminist voices articulate are not heard and acted on."

Mitchell discusses the “digital divide” in the U.S., which acts as a barrier to women’s participation not only in terms of online activism and discussion, but in improving their livelihoods. The “digital divide” is explored as it specifically affects women of color and poor women, with a look to improving the situation through the example of Digital Sistas, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded by Mitchell that focuses on building self-sufficiency skills for women and children who are traditionally underserved technologically.

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