North America | United States | Society

Why women in tech are being Photoshopped in instead of hired

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An image of a tech event in which two women CEOs were poorly Photoshopped into a group of 15 men reignited a discussion last week about tech companies’ ongoing failures to meaningfully diversify their workforces. Companies like Google and Facebook have overturned industries, changed the way we live, and are shaping the future. Yet somehow they haven’t been able to hire a workforce that even remotely represents their customers. Across the tech industry, the share of black and Latinx people in tech and leadership roles is often well below 5 percent, while women typically make up about a f
Middle East | Saudi Arabia | Technology

Saudi app criticized for feature to control women’s travel

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The Saudi government app Absher is mostly a way for people to pay traffic fines and complete other administrative tasks electronically. But one feature isn’t sitting well with civil-rights advocates: the ability for men to grant or deny a woman permission to travel. Regardless of their age, women in Saudi Arabia must have the consentof a male relative to obtain a passport, travel or marry. In the past, a travel permit was a paper document issued by the Interior Ministry and signed by a male relative. The Absher app replaces the need for a paper document.
Middle East | Saudi Arabia | Culture

Apple and Google Accept Saudi Smartphone App Which Tracks Women’s Movements

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Apple and Google are facing criticism for hosting a Saudi Arabian smartphone app on their platforms which allows men to track women’s movements and “stop them leaving the country.” According to Insider, the app, named Absher — which is available on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store — is “a government web service which allows men to specify when and how women can cross Saudi borders, and to get close to real-time SMS updates when they travel.” The SMS feature reportedly notifies men “when a woman uses her passport at a border crossing or airport check-i
International | Crimes

Hackers Are Sneaking Into Women’s Webcams and Posting the Footage on YouTube

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Here’s more evidence that you’re not a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist if you cover your webcam with a post-it note. According to a new report by digital rights group Digital Citizens Alliance, hackers are hijacking the webcams of women and girls and uploading the intimate footage to YouTube for profit. The report, which was released at the Black Hat conference, describes how hackers known as “ratters” use a special kind of malware called a remote access trojan, or RAT, to gain access to a victim’s computer and control their webcams. Trojans account for 70 percent of al