ECONOMYNEXT – Newer types of gender discrimination and harassment of women are happening due to biased algorithms in online spaces, the United Nations representative in Sri Lanka Marc André Franche has said.
“Newer threats, such as biased algorithms and programming inequalities, into online spaces are opening new arenas for harassment and abuse,” Marc André Franche said.
Algorithms can be trained to reflect past narratives and social agendas.
“At the current rate, it would take 134 years to achieve full gender equality,” Marc André Franche said.
One in five women in Sri Lanka have experienced physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner, according to UNFPA data. However, prosecution and conviction rates remain extremely low.
“During the recent United Nations country team’s visit in Jaffna, we sat down with a large group of students at the University of Jaffna and we met many, many young women, brimming with talent and ambition and one of them told us, we have the education, but not the opportunities,” Franche said.
Algorithms and artificial intelligence tools have been reported to be downgrading women, steering them into lower wage positions while targeting better job prospects for men.
“Amazon had to scrap its AI recruitment tool when it was found to downgrade resumes with the word “women’s” (eg women’s chess club) simply because the model was trained on past hiring data that favoured men,” The Times of India reported.
(Colombo/Mar12/2025)
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