Marking IWD 2022 with a Women in the Metaverse hackathon, Zone strategist Natalie Steers is inspired by stories of hope and empowerment…
We celebrated International Women’s Day this year at Zone with a Women in the Metaverse hackathon event. Going into it, I knew nothing about the metaverse and hadn’t even worn a VR headset before, but it was brilliantly inspiring and surprisingly thought-provoking. I expected to learn about emerging tech, gaming and new digital spaces. What I didn’t expect was age-old philosophical debates around ethics, social contract theory and governance structures.
Before we began ideating or hacking, we pulled up a chair and got inspired by some of the best speakers in the field, with the first session taken by Ed Hallam and Rosie Copland-Mann from Decode Magazine alongside Dean Johnson, president-elect of the Chartered Society of Designers and a design, technology and innovation consultant. We heard about the rise of the metaverse but also its issues — unconscious bias, female harassment, under-representation. Sound familiar? One of the biggest challenges facing the metaverse is that without more women, girls and those identifying as female building these spaces, we risk replicating the same problems that exist in society today. Currently, only 24% of game developers are women, so creating awareness and structures that give access to these groups is crucial if we’re to build a fairer virtual future.
And then comes the governance question — who polices these spaces to ensure women and marginalised identities are kept safe? There have already been reports of sexual harassment in virtual spaces. Last month, Meta was forced to add ‘personal boundaries’ in its virtual reality platforms Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues to stop avatars coming into close contact with each other following complaints from women of harassment. But who trusts Meta to govern appropriately and effectively, given Facebook’s history?
This all left me feeling a little deflated. Is the metaverse really an opportunity to create fairer, more equal structures and systems for women — as well as for race, class, gender? Or are we simply replicating society’s problems by not addressing them effectively in the real world first?
Paige Dansinger, founder of Better World Museum, Horizon Art Museum, Women in Horizon, came with stories of hope: “Women are doing incredible things in the metaverse. It’s not just a wild west of abuse and scariness,” she said. Paige shared inspiring tales of women leaders pushing boundaries with summits and mentoring for underserved women and girls. And the incredible example of female survivors of domestic abuse using the metaverse to amplify their voices through virtual talk shows.
After the speakers we split into teams — some virtual, some of us in the London and Bristol offices — to think up some new and exciting possibilities for women in the metasphere. After much heated discussions on ethics and governance, the Bristol team (my team) hacked an idea to create a personalised virtual experience for each individual based on your unique value and belief system, establishing governance through community-based moderation. A digital onboarding product would facilitate this, using AI to learn your preferences in real time as you exist and interact in the metaverse. So if you don’t want to experience gender inequality or bias, you can simply avoid it. Sounds dreamy, right?
Hopefully, one day, there will be no need for women-only spaces in the metaverse, or anywhere. Until that day comes, let’s keep saluting and supporting the women, girls and those identifying as female who are building a fairer virtual future for all of us — and using their voice to empower others the virtual and real world over.
Interested in exploring inspiring women-only spaces in the metaverse? Take a look at these:
