Why did 11 million fewer women than men vote in Pakistan’s 2018 general elections? Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is a much higher gender gap in each province’s largest metropolitan city compared to its remaining constituencies. This gap relates to men’s views about women’s vote and women’s knowledge of politics and the electoral process. Poor knowledge is, in turn, associated with a low interest in politics, which links to the failure of political parties to directly engage women and address their issues. These challenges can be addressed with better targeted voter education campaigns and a concerted effort by political parties to engage women directly and reduce their perception of being ‘politically invisible’.
Click here for full briefing.
While open source has long been used in the ICT4D sector, the open source community still faces challenges to represent different demographics despite the movement’s aspiration of inclusiveness and global reach. Given that the codes and algorithms underpinning digital technologies inherently reflect the values and backgrounds of those who build and contribute to them, women’s underrepresentation in open source is a challenge to the community’s commitment to inclusivity.