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Gender and Tech

The Gender and Tech Research Lab investigates the intersection points of technology, security, and gender to make digital systems work for everyone.

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About us

We are pursuing an interdisciplinary research agenda from two angles: On the one hand, we study how and why gendered assumptions mould our technological systems and affect their representation, design, as well as usage and control.

On the other hand, we examine the dynamics that enable digital technologies to construct and reinforce gender and other social categories such as race, class, age, or sexuality.

We are an open and welcoming research hub for people interested in gender and tech- / security-focused questions.

We train and support the next generation of scholars and practitioners comfortable in both social and technical research domains and value and endorse movement between disciplines, organisations, and sectors.

Additionally, we are interested in driving innovation to make emerging technologies as much as the tech sector safe, secure, and accessible to everyone.

Join our Lab

We are always looking for new students and collaborators and are open to hosting visiting researchers that align with our research focus.

Prospective PhD students are encouraged to explore the UCL Computer Science webpage. Open Research Assistant posts would be advertised on Unitemps whilst Postdoctoral roles would be featured on Work at UCL.

Aspiring visiting scholars should get in touch with our research lab via email.

Media coverage

Research by our team has been featured in national and international news outlets, including the BBC, The Financial Times, The Guardian, WIRED, VICE, Cosmopolitan, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Sunday Times, and MIT Technology Review.

Projects

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Gender and IoT

How will the Internet of Things (IoT) impact on gender-based domestic violence and abuse and what socio-technical measures will need to be implemented in order to mitigate against those risks?

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Violence, Health and Society

How can we reduce the harm to health caused by violence?

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RespondXR: Digital vulnerability of immersive training for first responders

What digital vulnerabilities are likely to emerge from mainstreaming immersive Extended Reality in the training of law enforcement and how might these be overcome?

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The UK Computer Misuse Act 1990 and domestic violence and abuse

How does the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990 apply to cases of technology-enabled domestic violence and abuse?

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Tackling Technology-Facilitated Abuse to Protect Victims and Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

How can we stop gender-based technology-facilitated abuse (“tech abuse”) at its roots?

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Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Network

The VAMHN aims to reduce the prevalence of mental health problems among children, adults, and the elderly, by bringing together experts with different ways of thinking about violence, abuse and mental health.

Newsletter

Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our research progress, any latest developments in the space of technology-facilitated abuse and the Internet of Things, as well as training and support opportunities.

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Contact

Dr Leonie Maria Tanczer
Associate Professor in International Security and Emerging Technologies

UCL Computer Science
169 Euston Road (First Floor)
London, NW1 2AE

Email: l.tanczer@ucl.ac.uk