December TWiST Newsletter: More Technology, More Equality? Not Necessarily!
- Dec 17, 2025
- 2 min read
From the Editor: Wen-Ling Hung, Editor-in-Chief of the TWiST Newsletter
In late 2025, the TWiST Newsletter partnered with the “We Don’t Know How to Teach Children Alliance” to collect stories about gender issues experienced by women in technology workplaces. We also held an online workshop and planned articles for this issue, with support from Ya-Chun Chou and Ying-Fan Tseng. Do we still need to discuss gender equality in 2025? These stories tell us yes—and remind us to keep working together to build a world that respects everyone.
I am this issue’s guest editor, Ya-Chun Chou, and Secretary-General of the “We Don’t Know How to Teach Children Action Alliance.” Welcome to this week’s newsletter! This issue features three in-depth articles, from nurturing the limitless potential of the “quantum generation” to uncovering hidden exclusion in the technology industry. Get ready for some eye-opening insights!
\Who says physics has to be difficult? Inspired by the “Exploring Tiny Wonders: Quantum Science Special Exhibition” in Taichung, Ying-Fan Tseng compares children to ever-changing “quantum systems” filled with unlimited possibilities. When adults rush to define their children, they may cause those possibilities to “collapse” too soon.
Drawing on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, the article suggests that the more parents try to control their children through rules and expectations, the less they may understand their true interests and potential. Good parenting is not about constant supervision, but about remaining calm and allowing children the freedom to grow.
Next, we turn to the workplace. Through the experiences of two women in technology spanning 20 years, the article reveals the continuing problems of gender discrimination and sexual harassment.
From revealing “swimsuit photos” displayed in an office to protest a ban on sexual jokes, to a recent “creamer cup” joke directed at a breastfeeding employee, these incidents show that hidden hierarchies and hostility persist despite the Act of Gender Equality in Employment. Many affected women ultimately left their jobs, whether they spoke up or filed complaints. We must stop dismissing their discomfort as being “too sensitive,” reconsider normalized workplace interactions, and end this recurring cycle of women being forced to leave.
Finally, Yi Chen examines why many women struggle to remain in technology careers. She argues that they are not leaving technology, but workplaces that do not allow people to be human. Although policies such as prenatal leave, maternity leave, and flexible working hours are well-intentioned, few women feel comfortable using them for fear of appearing “different” or “troublesome.” Men are similarly discouraged from taking childcare leave by traditional gender expectations.
Chen emphasizes that no one should be expected to become a superhero without weaknesses, a personal life, or physical limitations. She calls on all technology professionals to normalize using these workplace policies so that pregnancy, childbirth, and caregiving are no longer treated as exceptions.
Read the full articles in Newsletter Issue No. 216: http://www.twepress.net/tfst/item/1751-216 Subscribe to receive our newsletter in your inbox on the 15th of every month：http://www.twepress.net/book-epaper
That’s all for this week. We look forward to seeing you again in the next issue!
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