Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-t6hkb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T18:11:50.775Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Gender and Technology

A Historical Perspective

from Part I - Gender and Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2024

Ellen Balka
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
Ina Wagner
Affiliation:
Universität Siegen, Germany
Anne Weibert
Affiliation:
Universität Siegen, Germany
Volker Wulf
Affiliation:
Universität Siegen, Germany
Get access

Summary

This chapter goes back to the feminist discourse on science/technology and gender, which started in the 1960s and 1970s and was led by women scientists. Feminists criticized the gender binary and other dualisms and brought forward an understanding of ‘scientific objectivity’ as being rooted in the multiplicity of experiences. Feminist criticism of science and technology was later enriched by queer theory and a focus on intersectionality. Of particular influence on a feminist approach to science and technology were feminist standpoint theory and, connected with it, Donna Haraway’s notion of ‘situated knowledge’. In an STS tradition, Cynthia Cockburn analyzed the gendering of technologies – or the mutual shaping of gender and technology. Researchers in the field of cultural studies have followed the STS tradition with empirical studies of how gender plays out in activities such as radio tinkering or in makerspaces. One of the important insights on the way to a gender/intersectional perspective on design is Faulkner’s work on engineers and her understanding that the gendering that occurs in engineering practices is complex and heterogeneous.

Type
Chapter
Information
Gender and Technology at Work
From Workplace Studies to Social Justice in Design
, pp. 25 - 49
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Gender and Technology
  • Ellen Balka, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Ina Wagner, Universität Siegen, Germany, Anne Weibert, Universität Siegen, Germany, Volker Wulf, Universität Siegen, Germany
  • Book: Gender and Technology at Work
  • Online publication: 28 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009243728.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Gender and Technology
  • Ellen Balka, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Ina Wagner, Universität Siegen, Germany, Anne Weibert, Universität Siegen, Germany, Volker Wulf, Universität Siegen, Germany
  • Book: Gender and Technology at Work
  • Online publication: 28 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009243728.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Gender and Technology
  • Ellen Balka, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Ina Wagner, Universität Siegen, Germany, Anne Weibert, Universität Siegen, Germany, Volker Wulf, Universität Siegen, Germany
  • Book: Gender and Technology at Work
  • Online publication: 28 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009243728.004
Available formats
×