The 110th Block: Why tech whistleblowers are disproportionately women
And why the Canadian Online Streaming Act does not, in fact, benefit the marginalised
This week…
First, a rare Twitter thread from me.
Evidently, during this period, my mental focus shifts slightly from misinfo-watch to discrimino-watch. Same, same.
Next, the usual, a selection of top stories on my radar, a few personal recommendations, and the chart of the week.
Why so many tech whistleblowers are women
Francine Berman and Jennifer Lundquist for Fast Company:
A number of high-profile whistleblowers in the technology industry have stepped into the spotlight in the past few years. For the most part, they have been revealing corporate practices that thwart the public interest: Frances Haugen exposed personal data exploitation at Meta, Timnit Gebru and Rebecca Rivers challenged Google on ethics and AI issues, and Janneke Parrish raised concerns about a discriminatory work culture at Apple, among others.
Many of these whistleblowers are women—far more, it appears, than the proportion of women working in the tech industry. This raises the question of whether women are more likely to be whistleblowers in the tech field. The short answer is: “It’s complicated.”
Online Streaming Act claims to level the playing field … but for whom?
Sara Bannerman and Newshaba Ahmed for The Conversation:
The Liberal government’s Online Streaming Act claims to level the playing field between Canadian broadcasters and online streaming companies. But it could do more.
Black, Indigenous and racialized people — particularly women — are underrepresented both on the screen and behind the scenes. When they are represented it tends to be in superficial and stereotypical ways.
While some Black, Indigenous and racialized groups strongly support the bill, some are calling for more.
Passport and visa privileges in global health
Madhukar Pai for Forbes:
Years ago, in the 1990s, a young Indian community physician was thrilled to get a fully funded opportunity to attend a summer program in epidemiology at a leading American school of public health. He waited for hours outside the US Consulate for his visa interview. His ‘interview’ lasted seconds. His application was denied, with virtually no questions asked or documents examined. Well, that was my story. While I now have the privilege of living and working in Canada, I still remember that traumatic, demoralizing experience. I know that my experience was neither unique nor exceptional. It is, in fact, the norm in global health.
The field of global health is extraordinarily unequal, with privileged people and institutions in the global North dominating all aspects of global health. In fact, a majority of global health agencies are headquartered in US, UK and Europe, and most global health conferences are held in these countries. One form of privilege, the passports and visas people in high-income countries (HICs) carry, further worsens inequities in global health. And the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened inequities in global travel, making the playing field treacherously uneven.
What I read, watch, and listen to…
I’m reading why did the critics see only obscene monsters when 1970s women artists put the female body under the female gaze by Lauren Elkin for Aeon.
I’m watching the latest from Love, Death & Robots. The Jibaro episode, without a single word spoken, is simply spectacular.
I’m listening to (watching) this podcast by Canadian YouTubers Cristine and Ben of Simplynailogical on Canadian content regulation. Insightful perspective from actual content creators.
More stray links:
You’ve heard of DALL-E by now. Here’s the mini version, to let you use the technology to generate images based on any text prompt you enter.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reminds you filler TV is fantastic by Alex Cranz for The Verge.
How a saxophonist tricked the KGB by encrypting secrets in music by Lily Hay Newman for Wired.
Trapped in Silicon Valley’s hidden caste system by Sonia Paul for Wired.
Chart of the week
From data journalist Mona Chalabi: There have been 1,724,316 gun-related deaths since 1968; while there are 1,396,818 cumulative war deaths since the US country was founded. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (gun death data) and Congressional Research Service (conflict deaths).