Gender-Responsive Technology Foresight and Assessment: A Human Rights-Based Approach for Sustainable Development

As emerging technologies continue to transform economies and societies globally, the need for effective technology foresight and assessment frameworks has never been more critical. This submission presents a comprehensive approach that integrates gender responsiveness and human rights principles into technology foresight methodologies. Despite significant advances in global connectivity and technological innovation, persistent and widening gender gaps threaten to undermine the potential of emerging technologies to advance sustainable development.

The evidence is clear: approaches that treat gender as merely a “cross-cutting issue” without dedicated mechanisms have failed to deliver meaningful transformation. Similarly, technology assessment frameworks that do not explicitly integrate human rights considerations risk enabling technologies that reproduce or amplify existing inequalities. Our proposed framework addresses these shortcomings by introducing a lifecycle approach to technology assessment that centers both gender equality and human rights at each stage of technology development and deployment.

By establishing this dual approach—strengthening gender integration across existing technology assessment methodologies while creating dedicated gender-responsive mechanisms—the international community can ensure that emerging technologies serve as tools for advancing human dignity, equality, and sustainable development rather than reinforcing existing disparities.