Striving for Diversity and Gender Equality With Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) has the power to create empathy for the user. Stanford University recently conducted a study and found that people who used VR to see what it would be like to lose their jobs and become homeless developed longer-lasting compassion towards the homeless compared to those who explore other media versions. VR allows people to take the storyteller's point-of-view and take them through a day in their life. This discovery creates an important opportunity for us to leverage this power for the good of society.

“[VR] has been shown to increase people’s understanding of one another and to motivate positive social behaviors, such as donating, volunteering or cooperating with other.” [i]

It is important to note that virtual reality is not the only way to make the world a better place, but another platform. While studies have shown people to care more about a certain topic after they have experienced it through VR, the long-term effectiveness of it is still being researched. There are skeptics such as Erik Ramirez, a professor at Barbara University, that argue that “VR might help us to cultivate sympathy, it fails to generate true empathy”[ii].

In the last decade we find ourselves in a social, political and economic climate that demands change and transparency. An example of this is the spark of the #MeToo Movement that spread across the world with the power of social media platforms. There was an overwhelming surge of emotions surrounding this movement - some empathetic and supportive and others not as much. Regardless, the conversation evoked emotion, curiosity and willingness for change.

Virtual Reality is an industry that is projected to reach $28.3 billion by 2020[iii], with 37 million users[iv]. Virtual reality has the opportunity to ride this wave of activism and amplify women’s voices by creating content that aligns with the movement and evokes empathy.

VR in: Activism, Education and Art

There is an incredible opportunity to use this for change and showcase diverse experiences through virtual reality in order to evoke empathy in individuals that normally are not able to understand their privilege. Here are some use cases:

Activism

●     360 VR cinematic approach is able to showcase two different perspectives of the same situation. It can show a man’s and a woman’s perspective. In a result of research done by Stanford University they found that:

“the split-sphere 360° video increased the viewers’ feeling of personal responsibility for advancing gender equality in the workplace when the viewers identified themselves with the film’s female character” [v]

●     Another example of a 360 VR project is Across the Line[vi] that was created to show the experience women face to get access to an abortion clinic. You step into a patient’s shoes while trying to enter an abortion clinic, where you get harassed by protesters cursing at the user.

●     With her project, Complement.[vii] Lucy Bonner was able to showcase a woman’s experience walking down the street being catcalled by men.

Education

●     Equal Reality is an Australian startup that is using VR for employee training on gender discrimination. Equal Reality[viii]

●     Educating young boys and girls on topics of sex education has also been proven to be space for VR content. By gamifying education about STIs, Pregnancy, Intercourse and Consent, students can learn about these sensitive topics in a fun and engaging way. Read more about it here: Sex Ed in VR can Prepare Young Women for Actual Sex.[ix]

Art and Entertainment

I want to emphasize the importance of diverse voices in the arts and entertainment industry. As we start stepping into this new form of entertainment in Virtual Reality, as a society we need to be cognizant of what kind of worlds and stories we are crafting in this new medium. We have the incredible opportunity to take advantage of this blank slate in order to reinvent the arts, storytelling, games through the female experience.

That is not to say that women have not already started making major wins in arts and specifically VR. Close to 50% of VR content participating in major film festivals, such as Sundance and New York Film Festival was created by women, Diane Evans states in her article, In Virtual Reality, Women Run the World[x].

A Call to Action

Virtual reality is a parallel universe that mimics our reality and we have the opportunity to shape what can go into it. It is important to think about the moral fabric and culture of the content that is being created in this parallel virtual world. Let’s harness it for good.

To the content platforms: Consider creating content that reaches wider audiences in order to get more users and at the same time elevating their voices.

Current and future VR users: Don’t be afraid to step into someone else's shoes and see their point of view. Empathy is good for you.

#virtualreality #VR #genderequality #internationalwomensday #diversity #technology #tech #studentvoices #BabsonMIS7535 #augmentedreality #AR #experience #oculusgo #reality

[i] Shashkevich, Alex. “Virtual Reality Can Help Make People More Empathetic.” Virtual Reality Can Help Make People More Compassionate Compared to Other Media, New Stanford Study Finds, 16 Oct. 2018, news.stanford.edu/2018/10/17/virtual-reality-can-help-make-people-empathetic/.

[ii] Ramirez, Erick. “It's Dangerous to Think Virtual Reality Is an Empathy Machine – Erick Ramirez | Aeon Ideas.” Aeon, Aeon, 26 Oct. 2018, aeon.co/ideas/its-dangerous-to-think-virtual-reality-is-an-empathy-machine.

[iii] “Virtual Reality Set for Exponential Growth by 2020.” INDVSTRVS, 3 Jan. 2018, indvstrvs.com/virtual-reality-set-for-exponential-growth-by-2020/.

[iv] Gordon, Kyle. “Topic: Virtual Reality (VR).” Statista, Statista, www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/.

[v] Aitamurto, Tanja. “The Power of Virtual Reality in Advancing Gender Equality.” Medium, 3 May 2018, medium.com/@tanjaaitamurto/the-power-of-virtual-reality-in-advancing-gender-equality-6bf847df4db4.

[vi] “Across the Line.” Emblematic, emblematicgroup.com/experiences/across-the-line/.

[vii] Bonner, Lucy M. “Compliment.” LMB | Compliment, lucymbonner.com/compliment.html.

[viii] “- Equal Reality Diversity and Inclusion Training.” Equal Reality, 29 Aug. 2018, equalreality.com/.

[ix] https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bmvgaq/sex-ed-in-vr-can-prepare-young-women-for-actual-sex

[x] Evans, Dayna. “In Virtual Reality, Women Run the World.” The Cut, The Cut, 5 Oct. 2016, www.thecut.com/2016/09/virtual-reality-women-run-the-world-c-v-r.html.