Press release 19 October 2022
Plan International and Samsung Electronics Nordic launch FairLens, a girl-designed prototype to help reveal gender-biases on social media. The prototype was created together with young women from different parts of the world, through Equality Tech, and in cooperation with Gofore.
FairLens, an Equality Tech prototype, is a solution designed to help us create a more gender inclusive digital environment. It invites social media users to expand their understanding of gender inequality, biases and harassment, and see their social media through a different lens. The prototype includes both educational messaging and reporting functionalities, to drive change in the way we use social media.
Plan International’s State of the World’s girls report 2020 revealed that 58 percent of girls had experienced harassment on social media platforms. More than a third of young women feel stressed, worried, or anxious because of misinformation and disinformation online. These experiences lead to girls leaving digital platforms or changing their behaviour to feel safer. Samsung and Plan International have sought to combat these issues, developing Equality Tech, which brings girls to the center of technology.
FairLens was created together with young women from different parts of the world, through Equality Tech. The girls were involved throughout the process, ideating, iterating, and designing FairLens. With this approach, Plan & Samsung were able to identify new and more impactful solutions that explicitly meet the needs of women and girls.
“Young girls and women are affected psychologically by the social media climate and tech environment. We all have a role to play in this. Solutions like FairLens empower and equip girls with tools to feel safer through education, transparent reporting, and community support. They help other users of social media recognize their role and change their interactions online”, Jessica Herrera, Equality Tech Global Project Lead at Plan International says.
Education and raising awareness are key elements in making girls feel more empowered. Yet 7 out of 10 girls and young women have never been taught how to recognize fake information online. Girls and young women must be engaged in the development of policies, processes, and solutions for online safety and digital inclusion.
“Girls need to have a key role in tech development if we are to make the digital space more equal. We must invite girls to reflect on their experiences with technology, products, and services to make it truly inclusive, and designed based on everyone’s needs. As a part of our advocacy commitment to UN Women Generation Equality, we want to include young girls and highlight the need for a safer digital space for everyone. We hope that more in the tech industry leaders will join us on the journey to make tech equal!” Alexander Grimsen, Corporate Citizenship Lead at Samsung Electronic Nordic says.
The FairLens prototype is part of Equality Tech, a continuing co-operation between Plan International and Samsung Electronic Nordic aimed to create a more equal digital world and making tech development more inclusive. The FairLens prototype was created in co-operation with Gofore.
Read more about Equality Tech
www.equalitytech.info