Data Visualization for Non-oppression and Liberation: A Feminist Approach

Summary

In this article, we address data visualization as a political artifact in light of the work of the Observatory of Data and Statistics on Gender and Intersectionalities (ODEGI). We show how a feminist approach explores political dimensions in data and turns data visualization into a tool of subversion and resistance against the systems of oppression, in an unequal society like the Chilean. The reflections in this article seek to create dialogue around the question of how data visualization can be transformed into a tool of non-oppression and liberation, from a feminist approach. In line with this, the first part of the article provides a brief contextualization of the political and ethical attributes of data visualization. Then, we reflect on a framework that allows us to understand it as a feminist tool. We will finally delve into the ODEGI case and our use of data visualization to contribute to the fight against patriarchy and other systems of oppression, giving concrete examples of the categories of analysis we use in our design and decision processes.