Thread by @EFF

For #InternationalWomensDay, we remember that women have had an outsize impact on technology—and in many ways, are impacted more critically by it.

For the past 20 years, as we've honored leaders in our community with our annual EFF Pioneer Awards, we’ve also had the privilege of recognizing the talented and dedicated women who have pushed our community forward.
eff.org/deeplinks/2012…

We salute groups like our Electronic Frontier Alliance allies @futureada and @t4technyc, working to secure space for, and uplift issues that directly impact, women in tech.

But it’s also important to remember how the community has failed to recognize women. It took decades for most to recognize the accomplishments of women like Katherine Johnson, who fought for equality while working as a mathematician at NASA.
nytimes.com/2019/02/23/sci…

And while technology can benefit everyone, developers often fail to consider risks that largely affect women and other vulnerable groups. motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/…

In some parts of the world, fighting for access to technology can be risky: in Saudi Arabia—right now—Eman Al-Nafjan has been jailed for nearly a year, along with many others, for fighting for increased technology access for Saudi women.
eff.org/offline/eman-a…

In Egypt, Amal Fathy criticized the Egyptian government for failing to protect women, and her arrest has shown just how pertinent her concerns are.
eff.org/offline/amal-f…

In the U.S., laws like SESTA that restrict speech on the Internet put women in particular danger. mercurynews.com/2017/12/11/com…

And even areas often thought of as affecting everyone equally, like patent law, can have disproportionate impacts on women’s health. eff.org/deeplinks/2012…

This #InternationalWomensDay, remember: “Computing is too important to be left to men.” - Karen Spärck Jones