In a digital environment that is so often hostile to women and members of other marginalized groups, is there space for resistance and innovation? Many activists and practitioners seem to believe this is the case. Despite widespread concerns about surveillance, privacy, and gender-based violence online, there are signs that innovation is finding inroads. There are also indications that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a tipping point for the adoption of new technologies – with a few caveats. This chapter explores how new technologies are being used to promote feminist goals, including peacebuilding and efforts to combat gender-based violence. In doing so, it draws on case studies and interviews with individuals involved in related projects.

What emerges from this discussion is that technologies including ICT platforms, social media, blockchain, and even AI are being used in service of feminist goals. At the same time, though, these spaces are fragile. Women working in these areas are highly cognisant of the potential for backlash, of biases within the tech industry, and of the role inequalities play in shaping engagements with technology. These inequalities map onto gender, but also race/ethnicity, sexuality, and Global North/South divides. Self-censorship, as alluded to in earlier chapters, is a common coping mechanism for those facing backlash or harassment, but it is a response that limits prospects for transformative change. At the same time, I find that even highly educated and capable women professionals tend to underestimate their own expertise and capacity in ways that map onto gender stereotypes. Importantly, while prior work suggests that men in policy-relevant positions also have knowledge gaps and struggle to understand opaque technologies, this rarely seems to hinder their participation in policy debates (Singer and Friedman 2014). The durability of gendered stereotypes, the pervasiveness of online abuse, and the enduring nature of unequal access to tech all show how more attention and resources must be devoted to cultivating innovation, if we want to see a feminist future in the digital space.

Technologies and peacebuilding

As one practitioner I spoke with put it, ‘innovation’ can mean either developing new technologies or using existing technologies in new ways.