Digital Authority and the Reproduction of Gender Inequality: Addressing Gender Bias in Voice Assistant Development

Abstract

Gender and technology are deeply intersectional, with significant disparities in representation and influence. In Türkiye, only 24.3% of the workforce in technology consists of women, while globally, women make up just 26% of artificial intelligence professionals, a figure that drops to 11% in Silicon Valley. This paper critically examines the gendered design of digital voice assistants through the lens of feminist technoscience theory, arguing that AI and software development reflect and reinforce societal gender inequalities. The predominance of female voices in voice assistants, often coded with submissive and accommodating traits, is a manifestation of patriarchal cultural transmission into technology. This phenomenon is conceptualized as “digital authority” a term introduced by the author to describe the gendered power dynamics embedded in AI interactions. This study explores the interplay of gender, power, and technology as it is emphasized in international reports that deals with gender inequality in digital skills through education. The research highlights how male-dominated software development teams embed gender stereotypes into voice assistants, and how these stereotypes shape linguistic and behavioral characteristics. Additionally, this study presents findings from a small-scale survey conducted in Istanbul with 56 participants aged 30–60, all holding university degrees and belonging to middle- to upper-class economic backgrounds. The survey results align with UNESCO’s findings, demonstrating similar usage patterns and reinforcing concerns about the reproduction of gender biases in AI driven assistants. To address these challenges, the paper advocates for increasing women’s participation in AI development through digital education, greater visibility of female role models, gender-sensitive training for software developers, and policy interventions by governments, NGOs, and municipalities. Without immediate efforts to dismantle male dominance in the digital space, gender biases in AI will persist and deepen. A feminization of artificial intelligence where women transition from users to creators of technology is imperative for fostering a more inclusive and equitable digital future.

Keywords

• Digital authority
• Voice assistants
• Women in AI
• Gender equality
• Feminist technoscience theory

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