In the era of user-centered design several scholars have started to take a closer look at gender as one of the decisive factors for successful innovation. While technology, and specifically information technology (IT), has become the backbone of almost all industries and a key driver for innovation, women are still largely absent from these fields. They are heavily underrepresented as technology designers and neglected as autonomous users with individual needs. This thesis sets out to demonstrate the importance of gender for technology design; it analyzes the reasons for the lack of women in technology using a feminist perspective, and proposes a number of possible approaches how gender awareness could be increased in IT with a special focus on the organizational aspects of business software design. The findings are based on an in-depth literature review and are validated by means of several case studies of female IT professionals in the global software industry.
The demographic situation in the 21st century as well as the respective literature and research provide clear evidence of the social and economic benefits of increasing the ‘female factor’ in technology design. Women are a key – and heavily underused - driver for innovation, organizational performance and financial success in most companies. Yet, when analyzing the gendered nature of technology it became clear that its inherent masculinity has to a large extent been responsible for the absence and marginalization of women from IT until today. Current approaches to overcome the ‘women-technology-dilemma’ are often either seeking to help women adapt to the male norm or are over-emphasizing feminine connotated values for technology design. The findings in this thesis underline the social constructivist perspective that neither technology nor gender can be taken as fixed and given but are cultural processes subject to negotiations, contestations and transformation. As a consequence, one of the most important prerequisites for the software industry to make sure the results of their application design fit with the needs of a variety of stakeholders, including female users, is the establishment of a gender aware organizational mindset and a respective design framework using gender as a ‘lens’ and apply it every time new applications are being planned and implemented.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose and Research Questions
1.2 Motivation
1.3 Disposition
1.4 Delimitations and Definitions
1.4.1 Feminism
1.4.1.1 Political Dimension
1.4.1.2 Ideological Dimension
1.4.1.3 Chronological Waves
1.4.1.4 Criticism and Discussion
1.4.2 Gender
1.4.2.1 Feminist Perspective: Many Truths
1.4.2.2 Political Approach: Gender = Sex?!
1.4.2.3 Industrial Approach: Managing Diversity
1.4.2.4 Scientific Implementation: Gender Studies
1.4.2.5 Criticism and Discussion
1.4.3 Science & Technology
1.4.3.1 Science: Discovering and Explaining
1.4.3.2 Research: The First Step to Knowledge Acquisition
1.4.3.3 Engineering & Technology: Designing Solutions
1.4.3.4 Science and Technology Studies
1.4.3.5 Criticism and Discussion
2. The Relevance of Gender for Technology Design
2.1 Women - A Neglected Target Group
2.2 Social and Economic Benefits of Gender Awareness
2.2.1 A Question of Fairness and Equality
2.2.2 Financial Perspectives
2.2.2.1 Women as Innovators and New Sources of Revenue
2.2.2.2 Purchasing Power and Gender-Aware Marketing
2.2.2.3 Increased Organizational Performance
3. The Gendered Nature of Technology
3.1 Feminist Lenses
3.1.1 Science and Technology – Social Phenomena
3.1.2 Technology and Masculinity
3.1.2.1 History, Culture, and the Sexual Division of Labor
3.1.2.2 Symbols, Dichotomies, and the Use of Language
3.1.2.3 Socialization, Education, and Professional Discrimination
3.1.2.4 Gendered Design Processes and Artifacts
3.1.3 Hidden From History
3.1.3.1 Patterns of Marginalization
3.1.3.2 Great Women in Science and Technology
3.1.4 Approaches to Solving the ‘Women-Technology-Dilemma’
3.1.4.1 Liberal Perspective – ‘Fix the Women’
3.1.4.2 Radical and Socialist Views – Change the Standpoint
3.1.4.3 Cyberfeminism – New Technologies = New Opportunities !?
3.1.4.4 Social Constructivism – Things Could be Otherwise
3.2 A Closer Look at Information Technology
3.2.1 What makes IT Special?
3.2.1.1 The ‘Black Box Phenomenon’
3.2.1.2 Dictating Most People’s Working Lives
3.2.2 Gender and Information Technology
3.2.3 The Absence of Women in IT
3.2.3.1 Imbalances in Education and Training
3.2.3.2 Disadvantageous Working Conditions
3.2.3.3 Professional Discrimination
3.2.3.4 Cultural Factors Reinforcing a Male Image
4. Towards Gender Awareness in Software Design
4.1 Gendered by Design?
4.1.1 A Balance of Perspectives
4.1.2 Masculinity in the Design Process
4.2 Building a Gender Aware Organization
4.2.1 Management Commitment and Culture
4.2.2 Gender Workshops and Team Development
4.3 Implementing a Gender Aware Design Framework
4.3.1 ‘As-Is’ Analysis
4.3.2 New Setting
5. Reality Check: Gender and the Software Industry
5.1 Interview Framework
5.2 Profiles / Case Studies
5.2.1 Anja, 26 Years - User Interface Designer
5.2.2 Christa, 45 Years – Software Product Owner
5.2.3 Maria, 46 Years - Design Consultant and Trainer
5.2.4 Barbara, 47 Years - User Experience Designer
5.3 Interview Results
5.3.1 Educational and Professional Development
5.3.2 Organizational Recommendations
5.3.3 ‘From Woman to Woman’
6. Summary and Conclusions
6.1 Matching Theory and Practice
6.2 Options for Further Research
Objectives and Topics
This thesis explores the integration of gender awareness into technology design, specifically within the IT and business software sectors. It examines why these fields remain male-dominated, how this influences software development, and proposes organizational frameworks to foster gender-aware design processes that better meet the needs of a diverse user base.
- Gender as a critical factor for innovation and product success.
- The historical and cultural roots of the 'masculine' nature of technology.
- The economic and social benefits of increasing female participation in IT.
- Organizational strategies for building gender-aware development teams.
- Case studies of female IT professionals and their experiences in the software industry.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.2.1 History, Culture, and the Sexual Division of Labor
Wajcman (1991) and Cockburn (1992) point out how modern technology and hegemonic masculinity are historically rooted in the Industrial Revolution which was the starting point of industrial capitalism fueling the sexual division of labor and giving rise to specific gender roles and values locating women in the private home sphere with children, and men in the public work sphere dealing with technology. Cockburn illustrates how women – although major contributors to the production process since the beginning of time – in the course of the centuries were more and more excluded from skilled labor and exploited by employers while being denied the opportunity to unionize for better working conditions. Men, in an effort to preserve their jobs and ranks often supported these mechanisms and “consciously and actively [...] hedged women into unskilled and low paid occupations” (Cockburn 1992, 208; see also Rothschild 1983, 4). A famous example of this relationship between skilled work, technology and masculinity, and the mutual formation of class and gender is the history of typesetting technology in Britain described by Cockburn (1983, 61ff): End of the 19th century, the industry began to mechanize typesetting by introducing the Linotype technology. To save labor cost, the employers tried to break the craft strength of the male compositors’ union by means of splitting the tasks of keyboarding and casting into different machines. The shift to the ‘QWERTY’ keyboard used in typewriting – which had already become a feminized type of work by then – was supposed to get lower paid women to enter the typing part of the jobs. Yet, as the linotype machine was set up to do both and had a completely different keyboard, the compositors’ union fought for its technological development blocking the diffusion of the typewriter keyboard. In securing their sole use of this new technology, they effectively hindered women from entering these higher skilled, better paid areas of work.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the thesis by defining the research problem, motivation, and objectives regarding gender awareness in IT, while providing an overview of the key concepts used.
2. The Relevance of Gender for Technology Design: This chapter argues for the economic and social importance of gender awareness, highlighting how women are a neglected target group and how companies can benefit from more inclusive design practices.
3. The Gendered Nature of Technology: This key chapter explores why technology is perceived as a masculine construct, examining historical, cultural, and sociotechnical factors that have marginalized women in the field.
4. Towards Gender Awareness in Software Design: This chapter builds on previous findings to suggest organizational and framework-based approaches to mitigate gender blindness in corporate software development.
5. Reality Check: Gender and the Software Industry: This chapter validates theoretical findings through four detailed case studies of female IT professionals, reflecting on their individual career paths and organizational experiences.
6. Summary and Conclusions: This concluding chapter synthesizes the theoretical and practical findings, offering final recommendations for the IT industry and suggesting areas for future research.
Keywords
Gender awareness, IT, software design, feminism, technology, innovation, organizational culture, masculine construct, gender mainstreaming, user-centered design, software industry, case studies, gender gap, diversity management, social constructivism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this thesis?
The work focuses on the importance of gender awareness in technology design, with a specific emphasis on the IT and software application sector.
What are the primary themes explored?
The core themes include the gendered nature of technology, the social and economic benefits of including female perspectives in design, and strategies to overcome the 'women-technology-dilemma' within organizations.
What is the central research objective?
The goal is to demonstrate why gender matters in technology design, identify the systemic reasons for women's exclusion from IT, and propose practical, gender-aware frameworks for corporate software development.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The thesis employs an in-depth literature review of feminist technology studies combined with an empirical, qualitative approach using narrative interviews for case studies of four female IT professionals.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body traverses the theoretical context of gender and technology, the economic relevance of gender-aware design, the cultural roots of masculine bias in IT, and actionable organizational strategies for software companies.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Gender Awareness, Software Design, IT, Innovation, Masculine Construct, User-Centered Design, and Corporate Organizational Culture.
What specifically makes IT "gendered" according to the author?
The author argues that IT is gendered because it has historically been shaped by a male-dominated engineering culture, which implicitly encodes masculine preferences, social habits, and priorities into software development and organizational practices.
What is the "Black Box Phenomenon" in the context of IT?
It refers to the large gap between developers (experts) and users, where the complex and symbolic nature of software makes it difficult for non-experts to grasp the logic behind the technology, thereby alienating potential users.
What role does the "Old Boys' Network" play in the software industry?
The author identifies it as an informal social system that promotes a disproportionate number of men into positions of power, often hindering the advancement of qualified women despite their professional competence.
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- Henrike Paetz (Autor:in), 2011, Gender and Technology. The “Female Factor” in Software Design, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/296194
