Feminist Approach to Tech - A Study in Delhi Schools

What is a Feminist Approach to Technology?

● Gendered critique of design, use, impact and access to technology

● Empowering women to create and participate in the process of technology development

Why a Feminist Approach to Technology is essential?

● Inseparability of Rights and Technology● For development and growth● To ensure gender equality

Key problem areas:

● Low participation of women in creation of technology

● Absence of gender and technology from women's rights movements and development discourse

● Scarcity of data and information on girls studying in technology institutes in an Indian context

● Unequal access to technology usage

Our Programs

● Tech Centre Program ● Research Documentation and Advocacy Program● School Contact Program

Visible Trends from the Baseline Survey:

● Girls felt responsible for the great amount of housework as opposed to the boys in their families.

● Girls place the poor quality of teachers and facilities alone responsible for the lack of desire to pursue STEM.

● Facilities in school or the lack thereof also hamper students' motivations towards STEM.

Baseline Study

School Contact Program

● Background to the program

● Research cum intervention program.

● Research study to find out “issues related to girls vis-a- vis STEM”.

● Appropriate interventions based on the findings of the study.

Aims

● Contribute to non existent literature on gender and technology in the local context

● Understand the context of urban poor girls and their interests(or lack thereof) in STEM.

● Understand and ameliorate gender stereotypes associated with STEM.

● To sensitize teachers and students alike of the underlying gender-biases.

Objectives

● Study and analyse the performance of girls from 6th to 10th grade in STEM subjects in Govt schools.

● Conduct study to understand preferences, motivations and interests of students in these schools.

● Share results with teachers and administration with suggestions.

● Use results as a tool for advocacy.

Research Methodology

● Combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

● Qualitative: FGDs around attitudinal, societal and infrastructural issues.

● Quantitative: Questionnaire incorporating the responses obtained from the FGDs and a separate questionnaire by Google.

Dominant responsesIndividual- Both girls and boys find Science and Maths very difficult to understand.

Family- Girls do all the household work as opposed to boys who do no housework, Parents have a larger say in their career choices.

Infrastructural – No functional labs/computer classes in schools, tuitions unaffordable by most and seen essential to do well in STEM

Follow-up Programs

● Winter Camp at FAT's Tech Centre

- Done with our tech centre girls ● Workshops in Schools - Done with girl students from class 6th to 10th - Events included practice based workshops on Science and Technology

- Session with eminent speakers from STEM subjects and fields, interesting digital content and Quiz sessions.

Challenges encountered during the program

● Obtaining permission from government school to collect data and conduct workshops

● Insufficient Funds

What lies ahead?

● Replicate and adapt School Contact Program in other parts of the country

● Conduct bi-annual workshops in schools through volunteer supported program

● Organising events on STEM in schools