Tech supports women to stand up to rude men

In Brazil, a new app uses the smartphone to detect and help reduce Manterrupting.

A recent study found that men interrupt women 23% more often than they interrupt other men. Last week, International Women’s Day saw feminists across the world celebrating equality. According Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, “Women who worry that talking ‘too much’ at work will cause them to be disliked are not paranoid; they are often right.” A new app, Woman Interrupted, has been created to help detect and fight manterruption. Manterruption is when men interrupt women unnecessarily. It can prevent women from expressing their ideas at work, at home and in society as a whole.

The app is free and uses microphones to analyse everyday conversations and detect how often women are being interrupted. The technology tracks interruptions by recognising female and male voice frequencies. The app then shows users a graph illustrating which points in the conversation the interruptions took place. Conversations are not recorded or stored but those using the app are encouraged to share their data to raise awareness of the issue and publicise the campaign.

Back in 2015 we wrote about Bumble, a dating app that rewards well behaved men, by including a new ‘VIBee’ feature that encourages good etiquette by bringing well behaved male users to the forefront. Are there more ways that technology could help support equality between the sexes?