This article draws on participatory action research with adolescent girls in an urban informal settlement in Nairobi to explore how they engage with ICT-based sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) platforms and to highlight considerations for enhancing digital inclusion. Seven focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with 15 girls aged 10–17 years, complemented by 18 key informant interviews with SRHR platform implementers. Participatory methods such as journaling, vignettes, storytelling, transect walks, and interactive platform review were integrated into the FGDs. Using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis, the study analyzed adolescents’ experiences of four SRHR platforms designed for their age group (Iamfree2.com, Nia Teen Magazine, Shujaaz, and Love Matters). Findings reveal that adolescents’ engagement is shaped by age, language, literacy, interactivity, and mode of communication. Older girls valued interactive digital platforms and written content, while younger girls faced challenges due to limited literacy and digital skills, preferring simpler, relatable language mixing English, Kiswahili, and Sheng. Non-digital media such as magazines and comics were especially important in contexts of poor connectivity. It concludes that meaningful engagement of adolescents particularly younger girls who are often excluded from design processes is essential to ensure digital SRHR platforms are accessible, relevant, and transformative.

This article aims to explore the complex relationship between feminist movements in the region and the state’s efforts to suppress their activities, both in physical and online spaces. It problematizes the incidence and place of digital platforms in the political dispute in specific authoritarian contexts. The objective is to analyze the role of the feminist dispute in the Cuban digital space in the face of state control. A qualitative methodology was employed, drawing on the Cuban case study and digital ethnography, which utilized documentary literature reviews, in-depth interviews, and social network analysis techniques. The main results indicate a strategic use of social networks to promote demands and pressure, challenge the State, and foster feminist pedagogy within civil society. Digital spaces serve as a form of resistance in the face of challenges and fears associated with protest in physical spaces.

The primary objective of the article is to analyze the probability of female entrepreneurs engaging in serial crowdfunding activities. This article contributes to the discussion on gender dynamics in serial crowdfunding by examining persistence differences between female and male entrepreneurs. The dataset used for this analysis is sourced from Kickstarter, a prominent reward-based crowdfunding platform. The final sample consists of 35,891 projects. A logit model is used to analyze the relationship between the gender of entrepreneurs and the likelihood of launching another project. The primary model examines the third attempt as a function of female entrepreneurs. Further analysis explores the moderating effect of project performance on the relationship between third attempts and female entrepreneurs. Although female entrepreneurs are less likely to pursue subsequent projects after a successful effort, this does not necessarily indicate lower persistence compared to their male counterparts. Instead, it may reflect a strategic choice to concentrate on developing their successful venture rather than launching a new crowdfunding initiative. The results highlight the influence of gender stereotypes on female entrepreneurs’ behavior toward reward-based serial crowdfunding, suggesting that these stereotypes play a significant role in shaping their decisions and actions in this domain.

To address the issue of unequal access to rural extension services, the introduction of women-to-women extension and advisory services has been considered effective. However, men continue to dominate the agricultural extension workforce. By examining the norms of femininity and masculinity within agricultural extension organizations, this study aims to explore the gender differences and implications for its agricultural extension workers. Using a systematic literature review method, this study analyzes 38 studies retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, Emerald Insight, Science Direct, ProQuest databases and grey literature. Our study highlights that existing gender differences, such as career bias, conflicting expected attributes, gender neutrality and stereotyped roles, have a detrimental effect on women extension workers. These biases are compounded by complexities such as difficulties in translating gender policies, insufficient focus on gender equality, work-family conflicts, safety issues and intersections with other norms and subjective identities that can subordinate their positions. Efforts to support equal opportunities, provide training and create supportive working cultures for women, along with increasing awareness to reduce gender stereotypes, can help foster a more inclusive agricultural extension system and enhance the working environment for women extension workers.

Mobile phone-based Digital Agricultural Advisory Services (DAAS) offer cost-effective approaches for delivering agricultural extension to smallholder farmers, however, gender dynamics influence access and use patterns. Using focus group discussions with 49 women and 50 men farmers, complemented by key informant interviews with agricultural officers, we examined mobile phone ownership patterns and usage for agricultural purposes in rural Uganda. The findings reveal that while 94-98% of households own mobile phones, smartphone ownership remains limited (34%), with pronounced gender disparities. Both women and men use mobile phones to access information on agricultural inputs, markets, weather forecasts, and extension services through various platforms. However, there are institutional barriers, such as limited financial resources for devices and data bundles, poor network coverage, and restricted access to electricity. Gender norms further constrain women’s access, with lower digital literacy, inability to read in English, exacerbated lack of resources, time poverty, and reliance on men’s phones. To enhance inclusive access to digital agricultural services, we recommend integrating digital literacy programs targeting women, developing multilingual platforms, and adopting hybrid extension models that combine digital tools with face-to-face support. These interventions are essential to ensure equitable participation in Uganda’s digital agricultural transformation.

This study examines how young Pakistani women experience and negotiate identity through their use of Bumble, a dating application that positions women as initiators in online interactions. Situated within a culturally conservative society, the research addresses a gap in existing literature by exploring how digital platforms intersect with gender expectations in Pakistan. Using a feminist and techno-feminist lens, the study investigates how technology mediates autonomy, agency, and resistance to traditional norms. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 12 women who have used Bumble, the research highlights how the platform provides users with a sense of control, safety, and space for authentic self-expression. Participants valued the app’s design, particularly its women-first messaging feature, which challenged prevailing social expectations around female passivity in romantic contexts. However, the study also reveals key concerns: stigma around dating app use, discomfort with hidden or deceptive user intentions, and experiences of harassment. These findings reflect both the possibilities and limitations of app-mediated empowerment in a patriarchal environment. The study concludes with a call for greater public understanding of online dating in Pakistan, along with the need for stronger in-app safety mechanisms and culturally sensitive design practices.

Efforts to promote women’s participation, benefits, and empowerment in aquaculture entrepreneurship face persistent challenges rooted in patriarchal norms, policy frameworks, and local contexts. This article investigates how women’s entrepreneurship, supported by targeted programs, can help address these entrenched barriers. To do so, we employ the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework, which examines women’s entrepreneurial “niches” in relation to the dominant “regime” of local policies, public action, and gender norms. Our central aim is to understand how supporting women’s entrepreneurship can drive systemic change within aquaculture. Using a governance framework, we analyze strategies applied in two pilot interventions in Bangladesh, seeking to identify the limitations of current governance approaches and to propose strategies for establishing a more gender-equitable aquaculture regime. Our analysis reveals that existing strategic frameworks often fail to capture the agentic actions women take prior to program implementation and do not sufficiently address the influence of social and gender norms. Based on our findings, we recommend integrating gender transformative approaches and agentic strategies into governance frameworks, with the goal of challenging the prevailing regime and fostering greater gender equality in aquaculture. This approach recognizes women’s proactive roles and the importance of reshaping governance to support systemic gender equity.

This study examines the motives, rewards, and risks faced by Filipino gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) sex workers engaged in creating, marketing, and transacting online sex content. Guided by Foucault’s concepts of power and surveillance, it critically explores how queer sex workers navigate the complex intersection of global digital platforms, local cultural norms in the Philippines, and sexual identity. Through in-depth interviews with 20 Filipino GBT sex workers, the findings reveal a nuanced work ecosystem where workers balance opportunities such as financial independence, self-expression, and activism with risks like economic insecurity, digital harassment, and privacy violations. They also face discrimination from financial institutions and the compounded stigma of being both sex workers and GBT+ individuals. The study highlights the influence of moral judgments on platform regulations, forcing workers to continually negotiate their sexual roles against platform demands, social pressures, and monetization challenges. It concludes that Filipino GBT sex workers exist in a space between exploitation and empowerment, navigating competing forces while establishing digital sex work as a viable income source despite social stigma and digital regulation.

Coastal regions of Bangladesh face severe climate-related water challenges, with disproportionate impacts on women due to entrenched gender inequalities in access to resources, mobility, and decision-making. This study examines the extent and quality of women’s participation in Water Management Groups (WMGs) across four coastal polders using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative findings show that women’s membership is shaped by social norms, domestic roles, institutional dynamics, and access to resources, while men’s is driven mainly by production benefits. Moreover, women’s membership is further influenced by their social identity. Gender quotas have improved women’s formal representation, but decision-making within WMGs remains male-dominated, particularly in water infrastructure and financial planning. Qualitative insights highlight that restrictive social norms and intra-household power dynamics often render women’s participation symbolic. Leadership positions are still held overwhelmingly by men. Over 80% of women reported that membership improved their access to information and enhanced their recognition and voice in household decision-making. Yet, meaningful engagement remains limited without targeted efforts to challenge the structural and normative constraints that shape gendered exclusions. The study calls for gender-transformative approaches to water governance that move beyond quotas to strengthen women’s agency, voice, and leadership in water resource management.