Emilie Jäger Lecture 2025 with Catherine D'Ignazio – Digital In/Justice and Data Feminism

On 14 May 2025, Prof. Dr. Catherine D’Ignazio (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) delivered the keynote lecture Digital In/Justice and Data Feminism in Bern. In her talk, she explored feminist data activism and showed how collective approaches grounded in care and restoration can open transformative pathways toward data justice. Drawing on grassroots initiatives documenting feminicides, D’Ignazio highlighted the potential of feminist practices to challenge mainstream data science and make hidden forms of violence visible. On this occasion, she was presented with the Emilie Jäger Award of the Faculty of Science, which honors individuals advancing diversity, equality, inclusion, and justice in academia. 

At MIT, D’Ignazio leads a team working at the intersection of data, design, and social change. She is the author of Data Feminism (with Lauren F. Klein), a widely cited manifesto for ethical and inclusive data practices, and her most recent book, Counting Feminicide, which examines how data practices can both expose and obscure gender-based violence. Beyond academia, she organizes reproductive justice hackathons, develops open-source tools, and engages in artistic and civic interventions that challenge dominant narratives about data and knowledge.

The event was organized by the UniBE Digital In/Justice Initiative and co-sponsored by the Equal Opportunities Commission of the Faculty of Science, Bern IberoAmerican Studies, the Vice-Rectorate Quality and Sustainable Development, and the mLAB. It was also part of the University of Bern’s thematic focus Mensch in digitaler Transformation, which highlights the societal and cultural dimensions of digitalization. As such, it formed part of the annual Emilie Jäger Lecture series, which brings leading thinkers to Bern for critical dialogue on equality, diversity, and the social dimensions of science.