What is this about?
This document explains gatekeeping in a clear and accessible way.
Gatekeeping means deciding who gets access to things like:
- 💼 opportunities
- 📄 information
- 💰 funding
- 🗣️ participation
- ✅ recognition
Sometimes gatekeeping is obvious.
Sometimes it happens quietly, without anyone saying "no".
This work explains how gatekeeping works in modern systems, especially systems that say they are open, fair, or inclusive.
What is gatekeeping?
Gatekeeping happens when:
- 👂 some people are listened to
- 🚫 some people are ignored
- 😓 some people have to work much harder just to be considered
Gatekeeping is not always done by one person.
It often happens through:
- 📜 rules
- 💻 systems
- 🧾 forms and processes
- 🧑💼 professional language
- 🤐 silence
Gatekeeping in networks 🌐
Today, many systems are networked.
This means decisions are spread across:
- 🏢 organisations
- 💻 technology
- 📑 policies
- 👥 people
Because of this:
- no one person may feel responsible
- problems are hard to challenge
- harm can happen without intent
Gatekeeping becomes invisible but powerful.
Two key ideas 🔑
1. Identification 🔍
This means:
- • spotting where gatekeeping is happening
- • even when no one says "access denied"
Gatekeepers can be:
- 👤 people
- 🏛️ organisations
- 🤖 computer systems
- 📋 rules and procedures
2. Salience ⭐
Salience means who gets priority.
Some people are treated as:
- ⭐ important
- ⏰ urgent
- 💬 worth responding to
Others are:
- 🕰️ delayed
- ❌ ignored
- 🔁 asked to explain themselves again and again
This is not random. It depends on things like:
- ⚖️ power
- 🤝 connections
- 💸 money
- 🚪 alternatives
Why gatekeeping causes harm 💔
When systems gatekeep:
- ⏳ people must wait
- 🗂️ people must explain themselves repeatedly
- 😞 people must do unpaid emotional work
This work is often:
- 👻 invisible
- 💸 unpaid
- 🤷♀️ expected
The system stays comfortable.
The person carries the cost.
This is called structural harm.
A real-world example 🧩
Someone started an online application for a government-supported corporate sponsorship.
They:
- 💾 saved the application
- 🚫 did NOT submit it
Later, they:
- ❌ received a rejection letter
- ❓ were not told why
- 📭 received no reply when they asked for an explanation
What happened?
- • The system treated them as rejected
- • No clear decision was visible
- • No one took responsibility
This is gatekeeping without an application.
Why this matters ⚠️
Many systems say they are:
- 🌈 inclusive
- ⚖️ fair
- 🔓 open
But gatekeeping can still happen.
This work helps:
- 👀 make gatekeeping visible
- explain why exclusion keeps happening
- 🛠️ support fairer system design
Who is this for? 👥
This work is useful for:
- 🎓 researchers
- 🏛️ policymakers
- 🏢 organisations
- ✊ advocates
- 🌍 anyone affected by complex systems