Latanya Sweeney, Professor of government and technology at Harvard discussed how stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination can impact people’s economic mobility and in many cases access. She told a riveting story about how an interviewer had asked her to discuss an arrest that had never happened because when the Manager Googled her name and it gave the misinformation. The speaker paid money to prove that not only was this allegation not true, but she had never been arrested or detained. Admittedly confused, she researched the matter and found that “Latanyas” online were all Black and associated with the criminal justice system, where as “Tonyas” were mostly Caucasian and associated with no criminal past.
While the crowd demonstrated disapproval and discust at this blatant miscarriage of socio-technical justice, many women feel powerless to act. After this speech, we understand that first we must garner the will to be aware of this socio-technical component of women’s participation in the global economy through involvement in technology.
Professor of government and technology in residence at Harvard University, Editor-in-Chief of Technology Science, director and founder of the Data Privacy Lab, former Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science, Technology and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, Latanya Sweeney has 3 patents, more than 100 academic publications, and her work is explicitly cited in two U.S. regulations, including the U.S. federal medical privacy regulation (known as HIPAA). She is a recipient of the prestigious Louis D. Brandeis Privacy Award, the American Psychiatric Association’s Privacy Advocacy Award, an elected fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, and has testified before government bodies worldwide.