By Eliza Anyangwe, Managing Editor of As Equals
This story is part of 'Systems Error', a series by CNN's As Equals, investigating how your gender shapes your life online. For information about how CNN As Equals is funded and more, check out our FAQs.
Provided you are able to get online or have a mobile phone, the internet, social media platforms, digitized payment and telecommunication systems, have given us incredible access to information; facilitated communication and connection with people around the world; enabled us to start or join communities or businesses, or support movements for change almost anywhere in the world and much more. Automation and machine-learning algorithms are leading to untold efficiencies and greater personalization.
For a month last summer, over the course of six separate conversations, we brought together people working at the intersection of gender and technology and asked them what issues come up again and again; what opportunities and challenges are worth casting a spotlight on; what is urgent and poorly understood about how women's lives -- and our societies as a whole -- are impacted by digital technologies.
Third, the way tools and platforms are working today does not mean that their course is fixed forever. Citizens can shape the internet and the path of our digital futures. We just need to know how.
Aware that many of us do not know -- or need reminding -- of the ways we can make ourselves safer online (even as we try and change the systems that make us unsafe) As Equals will be creating accessible guides to accompany our reporting. These shareable and saveable resources will help CNN's audiences learn more about online risks and will provide steps to make your online presence safer.
Senthilingam said: "The internet has provided hope, connection and opportunity for billions of people, but we have to address the fact that this same connectedness has also created a truly harsh reality for many women and gender minorities. How can the media enable more of the good and less of the bad? One way is by showing people both realities and letting them play a part in doing something about it."
She added: "Experts unanimously told us that a key step to a better and safer internet is increasing awareness and understanding of what is happening online and how to protect yourself, so this is what we have set out to do."
To find out more about the series, you can get in touch with the series Editor, Meera Senthilingam, or As Equals' Managing Editor Eliza Anyangwe, by emailing: asequals@cnn.com