Forced to Quit

How many women were forced to step back in their professional lives due to hate speech, misogyny, and disinformation? Examples can be found in the hyperlocal to the international contexts of politics, journalism, and activism, to name a few, but they are widespread. Data Feminism’s core lies in the assumption that only what gets counted counts. This is the aim of this project: counting (and accounting for) cisgender and trans women who had to leave the public sphere because they had enough of threats, hate, and lies and were forced to step aside.

Quitting has a broad meaning in this project. It means to stop doing something. It involves resigning from a job or being prevented from moving forward in a public-oriented career. It can also mean being on the verge of doing so because it is also a process, not only an outcome. It might look like a voluntary action taken by a woman, but there is, in fact, no choice once one is affected by nasty fabricated narratives. No one should stay wherever they are in such conditions. The news media have reported the decline of women in decision-making positions where they can represent other women and their demands. Imagine the number of women who cannot even get there or the ones who have been exploited and oppressed during centuries of colonization, such as indigenous and black women.

Forced to Quit is made for and by citizens tired of (political, or insert other names here) violence against women. Thus, this is a crowdsourcing-based initiative. To get involved, fill out this online form. Important: you should not create a new entry solely based on your assumption. This is why we ask for high-quality evidence, such as news media articles and videos from social media personal accounts.

what we count

V.1. In this first wave, we are collecting names of female politicians, journalists, activists, and other types of leaders from hyperlocal to international landscapes who had to report, discuss, or deal with topics that try to advance human rights – women’s rights is implied here –, such as reproductive rights, access to education and health, etc. Those who fight for equal rights, inclusion, and a fair and diverse society.