World News Day

Yesterday (September 28) was World News Day, a global day highlighting the vital importance of fact-based journalism. With the biggest search and social media platforms in Canada having ended access to news on their platforms in response to the Online News Act, I can’t help but think of the ripple-effect impacting women, girls, and Two Spirit, trans, and non-binary people in Canada.

Social media and search engines serve as curators for women and gender-diverse people, helping them locate among other things, information on gender gaps in health, safety, pay, and employment. Digital platforms are tools for navigating everyday life – particularly for those of us who face multiple barriers like racialized women, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, women with disabilities, and women in rural and remote areas.

I find it interesting that the most popular webpages on the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s website focus on gender pay gaps, gender-based violence, and gendered poverty. It’s a sign that the public cares about hidden facts and solutions to gender inequalities, and they look to digital material to get it.

There’s a gendered tech and time gap to consider, too. Though women are heavier social media users, they spend less time on the internet than men. Women generally have less free time, at least partly due to a higher unpaid childcare and housework load. Gendered poverty could also mean that women and gender-diverse people are less able to afford the latest devices and internet access in a country where broadband is a problem, especially in rural and remote areas.

If we can’t rely on the biggest social media sites and search engines to help us find information about our lived experiences and how to navigate barriers, it’s going to be hardest on those with less time and money.

We all need great digital information access. Our media landscape is essential too—especially for feminist reporters and women and equity-seeking journalists who tell the under told stories, sometimes at great personal cost. They need more space and support to do what they do best. Check out some of the amazing journalists my colleague, Andrea Gunraj , has spoken to on the Alright, Now What podcast:

• Storytellers, Not Story Takers with Molly Hayes
• Feminist Journalism with Christina Frangou and Robyn Doolittle

A weak, non-diverse media landscape and digital news blockages hurt us all. This is not a workable situation. We need a productive path forward.