Open Source as a Tool for Gender Equality

March, which marks Gender Equality Month and Women's Day, offers a moment to step back from daily routines and consider how technology can drive social change. Two organizations—Audiopedia Foundation and Chayn—are using open source approaches to address gender inequality in very different ways: one focused on information access for women in the global south, the other on supporting survivors of abuse and domestic violence.

Audiopedia: Closing the Information Gap Through Audio

Audiopedia Foundation works with NGOs worldwide to deliver information—covering topics like health, economics, and human rights—through audio formats. The delivery methods vary by community: solar-powered audio players, WhatsApp, loudspeakers, whatever fits local needs.

Co-founder Felicitas Heyne says the problem they're trying to solve is staggering. Official numbers put 500 million women worldwide as illiterate, and more than half of the world's 7,000 languages lack a written form entirely. When she encountered these statistics, she realized the traditional development model wasn't working.

"We've been doing development work for decades now and still, every third woman can't read or write. These numbers haven't changed despite all of the work from NGOs and that's because the scalability and impact aren't sufficient. But we can leapfrog this problem now with tech."

Heyne sees technology as a way to solve problems that have resisted NGO efforts for decades—without waiting another 300 years for gender equality.

Chayn: Trauma-Informed Support for Survivors

Chayn is a tech-forward nonprofit supporting survivors of sexual abuse, assault, and domestic violence. What distinguishes the organization is that survivors themselves are at the center of the work—many team members have lived experience, though disclosure isn't required.

Head of Product Nadine Krish Spencer describes this as a "trauma-informed way of working," and it was a major draw for her joining the organization. Even team members who aren't survivors often know someone close to them who has experienced abuse, adding a layer of understanding that shapes how they reach the people they serve.

The tech world connection proved valuable in an unexpected way. Through the DPG Open Source Community Manager Program, Chayn worked with a community manager who helped them build a volunteer tech program—something they'd previously struggled with. Spencer says the experience showed her that open source volunteers are unique: strangers contribute without meeting you or receiving credit, purely because they see it as contributing to social good.

"I don't know if another industry operates like that where strangers come in and essentially perform random acts of kindness."

Advice From Women Leaders

Both women offer pointed advice for those entering tech.

Spencer acknowledges the temptation for women to retreat from tech as they sometimes do from other male-dominated spaces. Her own career illustrates the challenge: she was one of two women on a floor of roughly 100 men, joining a 35-person company as product manager and watching it scale to 450 before she left. That rapid rise fed imposter syndrome, and common advice to simply "break it down" made things worse.

"The better advice is: find your allies. Having allies—of any gender—helps you start to shake the imposter syndrome naturally and you become a lot more confident when you're not in a place of isolation."

Heyne is inspired by women who overcome obstacles, noting that becoming a victim is unfortunately easy for women, but watching them grow from challenges is powerful. Her visits to a women's shelter in Morocco left a lasting impression.

"I didn't earn my privilege; it was mere luck. So, I have a strong need to help those who aren't as privileged. It's a question of justice in my eyes; inequality drives me crazy."

For leaders looking to make a difference, both emphasize stepping back to reflect, recognizing privilege, and turning empathy into concrete action. Spencer calls it "balcony time"—a pause to look over your life and acknowledge the people around you.

"I see you there and I see how you're showing up for other people. Recognition and support are things we've got to do for each other."

Those wanting to get involved can explore Audiopedia's and Chayn's websites and repositories; Chayn also welcomes contributions to its bloom-frontend, bloom-backend, and soulmedicine projects.