news // 4

Gender Avenger app tracks
South by Southwest

» App encourages awareness of female representation in various

industries

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Minews
Ee _ @theotherpress.ca

Gas Avenger, an online
group created in 2013 to
raise awareness of disparities,
developed an app that tracked
the genders of panelists at
this year’s South by Southwest
(SXSW) conference and
festival.

The Gender Avenger app
has been used to keep track
of the total number of female
presenters at events compared
to male presenters. The app
then tallies numbers and
releases a pie chart that can be
shared on social media. Some
better known uses of the of
the app included showing the
numbers of women nominated
for non-acting awards at this
year’s Academy Awards (35
women, 149 men).

SXSW, which this year
ran from March 13 to 22,
annually hosts panels with
active members of the
music, film, and “interactive”
communities—the latter of
which focusses on technology,
video games, and networking,
amongst other fields.

In 2013, SXSW introduced
an initiative to see more
women speakers at events,
updating their policy of
inclusion with the statement,
“There are thousands of
extremely qualified women in
the media industry. If you are

  

: organizing a session with at

: least three total speakers, then
: at least one of these speakers
must be female.”

For 2015, the SXSW-specific

: Gender Avenger app saw

: attendees report the numbers

: of presenters at specific panels.
: The idea behind reporting this
: year’s numbers was to indicate
: whether or not SXSW was

: actually including more women
: speakers across various panels,
: or if there were just more

: panels that raised of awareness
of gender-related issues.

The Gender Avenger

: website has a “hall of fame

: and shame” page which tracks

: which events and lists show

: gender diversity and which do

: not. One of this year’s SXSW

: panels, titled “2030 Now:

: Innovations for the World We

: Want,” met Gender Avenger’s

: “hall of fame” with a gender

: ratio of four women to five

? men. The panel in question was
: hosted by members of the UN,
and focussed on how the group :

Image from newsfishet.io

: plans to tackle major global
: crises in the coming years.

A recent prominent

: example of Gender Avenger’s

: “hall of shame” category,

: updated on March 12, focussed
: on the New Yorker's goth

: anniversary issue, which

: featured 19 cartoons—a staple
: of the iconic magazine—none
: of which were created by

? women.

Gender Avenger was

: founded by Gina Glantz, a

: political campaign manager
: who's represented, amongst
: other politicians, Al Gore.

: Glantz spoke out about the

: issue of gender disparity

: inan August 2013 article

: for the Huffington Post,

: and how she planned to

: take on the issue, writing,

: “Everywhere possible when

: women are unrepresented or
: underrepresented, an ‘avenger’
: will take note, take action,

: or ask someone else to take

: action.”

 

Transit referendum voting underway

» Cast your vote between now and May 29

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Mi news
E _ @theotherpress.ca

\ J oting for the transit

referendum began last
week on March 16, with
aggressive “Yes” and “No”
campaigns pitting voters
against each other.

The referendum will
determine whether or not an
increase in taxes will be used
by TransLink to offer more
bus routes, longer services
hours, and other general
improvements to BC’s transit

> services.

Many have used

: TransLink’s previous

: controversies against the
: transit company prior to
voting, such as frequent

: system breakdowns, previously:
: increased fares, and arguable
: misuse of funds in regard to

: staff wages.

However, TransLink has

also publicly acknowledged

: these issues, with the company
: stating the increased tax rate
could help resolve previously

: known issues such as those
listed.

Vancouver historian Jak

: King announced in the Georgia

: Straight that he’d already voted
: in favour of “No” on March 19,

: stating that as a transit user, he
: felt there were other options for
: TransLink to improve services
without taxing BC residents.

On the other side, Globe

: and Mail writer Gary Mason
: wrote about his favouring

: of a “Yes” vote on March 20,
: writing, “This has been a

: wonderful chance to build a
: better transit future that will
benefit future generations.”

Voting will take place until

May 29, and will see whether
: there will bea 0.5 per cent

: increase to BC’s regional sales
: tax.

 

 

theotherpress.ca

Cpl. Benjamin “Monty” Robinson

Photo by Glenn Baglo/PNG FILES

Second RCMP found
guilty of perjury

» Monty Robinson was accused of perjury
in Dziekanski-taser case

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Mi news
E _ @theotherpress.ca

n March 20, Monty

Robinson was reported
guilty of perjury in the Robert
Dziekanski case.

Robinson is the second
RCMP officer to be found
guilty of perjury, following
Kwesi Millington’s conviction
on February 20. However,
unlike Millington, Robinson
is a former officer, having left
the RCMP in the time since
Dziekanski’s death.

Robinson and Millington
were previously on trial with

incident, which resulted in
Dziekanski’s death at the

: Vancouver International
: Airport in 2007.

Millington is still awaiting

: sentencing, while another

: officer, Bill Bentley, was found
: not guilty of perjury in July

: 2013. However, Bentley’s case

: has reportedly been sought

: to be re-opened, as all four

: officers—the last being Gerry
: Rundel—have been accused of
: having conspired during their
: previous and separate trial

: years before.

“T agree with the Crown

that [Robinson] had a

: direct motive to exaggerate
: the threat posed by Mr.

: Dziekanski and to justify

; the response to that threat,”
: said Supreme Court Judge
two other officers for the taser : Nathan Smith during the trial,
: according to the Canadian

: Press.

 

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The News Editor is respansible for coordinating the Mews section on a weekly
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