Gender equality in the context of digitalization: the european legal experience

 
PIIS102694520016449-4-1
DOI10.31857/S102694520016449-4
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Occupation: Chief Research Fellow, Department of the Human Rights, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Affiliation: Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Journal nameGosudarstvo i pravo
EditionIssue 5
Pages115-123
Abstract

The principle of gender equality is closely linked to the right to non-discrimination, which has come into national legislations from international law. The evolution of the principle of equality from formal to substantive has been influenced by the Anglo-Saxon approach to European Union law, which focuses on equal treatment. In general, a fairly uniform model of anti-discrimination legislation has emerged worldwide.

The digitalization process has brought with it new threats, and a number of countries have already identified a gender gap in access to technology. However, the greatest risks are posed by digital gender discrimination - direct or indirect discriminatory actions that are based on automatic decisions made by algorithms. Such decision-making cannot be described as technology-neutral, as the algorithm may reflect the prejudices of programmers. The discriminatory decisions made by algorithms will be consistent and systematic, which is much more dangerous than individual human decisions. The causes of digital discrimination lie in modelling and making predictive recommendations based on discriminatory data, and in training algorithms based on discriminatory data. To overcome this complex problem - from the legal point of view - it is necessary to enforce the rule of transparency of algorithms as well as the decisions they make. It is necessary to conduct an audit of the algorithms - a special evaluation of the algorithm for potential violations of human rights. Also, the possibility and procedure of using artificial intelligence for decision-making must be regulated by laws. Some artificial intelligence systems should be banned outright, while others should be strictly controlled. The Proposal for a European regulation on artificial intelligence amply demonstrates this.

Keywordsdiscrimination, algorithm, digital technology, equal treatment, artificial intelligence, gender equality
Received14.09.2021
Publication date18.05.2022
Number of characters31713
Cite  
1 rub.
When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 361

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Govorova N.V. Women in the digital economy of the European Union // Woman in Russ. society. 2021. No. 2. P. 167, 168 (in Russ.).

2. Gurinskaya A.L. Supervision as a means of ensuring security: from prison space to cyberspace // Criminology: yesterday, today, tomorrow. 2014. Vol. 33. No. 2. P. 92, 93 (in Russ.).

3. Kalabikhina I.E. How do we know that gender equality is coming? // Woman in Russ. society. 2021. No. 2. P. 11 (in Russ.).

4. Shirokanova A.A., Volchenko O.V. “Big Brother is watching you”: the acceptability of state online surveillance in 30 European countries (according to EVS-2017) // Information Society. 2020. No. 2. P. 92, 93 (in Russ.).

5. Akhmatova D.-M., Akhmatova M.-S. Promoting digital humanitarian action in protecting human rights: hope or hype // Journal of International Humanitarian Action. 2020. No. 5. URL: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-020-00076-2 (accessed: 02.09.2021).

6. Besson S. Gender Discrimination under EU and ECHR Law: Never Shall the Twain Meet? // Human Rights Law Review. 2008. Vol. 8. Issue 4. P. 675 - 677.

7. Caliskan A., Bryson J., Narayanan A. Semantics derived automatically from language corpora contain human-like biases. 2017. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316973825_Semantics_derived_automatically_from_language_corpora_contain_human-like_biases (accessed: 02.09.2021).

8. Criado N., Such J.M. Digital Discrimination. 2019. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336792693_Digital_Discrimination (accessed: 02.09.2021).

9. Dhoquois R. La recherche féministe à l’université dans le domaine du droit – Une absence en forme de désertion // Les Cahiers du CEDREF. 2001. No. 10. P. 171 - 177.

10. Gerards J. Non-Discrimination, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights: Who Takes the Lead? In: T. Giegerich (ed.). The European Union as Protector and Promoter of Equality. Cham: Springer, 2020. Р. 138.

11. Junter A., Ressot C. La discrimination sexiste: les regards du droit // Revue de l’OFCE. 2010. Vol. 114. No. 3. P. 75.

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up