Carlos Cámara
Carlos Cámara is a Senior Research Software Engineer at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies at the University of Warwick (UK). He is an interdisciplinary researcher, with a background in architecture and urban sociology, whose research articulates around how physical and digital infrastructures, especially those that are commonly produced, respond to and are shaped by societal challenges. Currently, he is researching, inquiring and surfacing the world-views that are invariably embedded in technical artefacts such as platforms and maps, and how this affects under-represented communities. To do, he uses mixed-methods, with a preference for participatory approaches, digital methods and data visualisation. In his free time, he loves contributing to OpenStreetMap, and he has co-organised several humanitarian mapathons and accessibility mapping parties.
Session
This talk analyses how gender inequality shapes OpenStreetMap's (OSM) tagging proposal process, revealing that diversity gaps intensify at higher participation levels. Maps are never neutral — their makers' demographics determine whose realities are represented or silenced. Systematically analysing every tagging proposals and votes since its creation using a purpose-built R package, we found that 59 prolific, mostly European and North American male users dominate proposal approval, while feminised proposals are underrepresented and disproportionately opposed. These findings confirm that structural inequities persist regardless of how well-designed, flexible and well-intended technologies may be.