Yesterday, February 11, the world celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This day draws attention to the need for gender equality in STEM fields and recognizes the contributions that women add to the disciplines. Perhaps the celebration sparked an interest in further exploring data science through a feminist lens. If so, interested readers may enjoy Data Feminism, available as an open text through MIT Press. Authored by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein, Data Feminism explores power dynamics within data collection and production, asking questions like "Data science by whom?"; "Data science for whom?"; and "Data science with whose interests in mind?" The pair draw on Kimberle Crenshaw's scholarship on intersectional feminism and creates a spin-off of bell hooks's idea that "feminism is for everybody," by arguing that "data feminism is for everybody." The eight main chapters cover themes including: data visualization, racism, and sexism. Though the text delves into several topics, D'Ignazio and Klein acknowledge that the book is a starting point and they invite readers to continue exploring diverse perspectives on "data, design, and justice." In addition to reading the text on the site above, readers can download chapters as PDF, Word, or EPUB files (among other options) via the right-hand corner Download box.
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