Gender and Technology at Work

This book brings together the vast research literature about gender and technology to help designers understand what a gender perspective and a focus on intersectionality can contribute to designing information technology systems and artifacts, and to assist organizations as they work to develop work cultures that are supportive of women and marginalized genders and people. Drawing on empirical and analytical studies of women's work and technology in many parts of the world, the book addresses how to make invisible aspects of work visible; how to recognize women's skills without falling into the trap of gender stereotyping; how to engage in improving working conditions; and how to defend care of life situations and needs against a managerial logic. It addresses challenges for design, including many overlooked and undervalued aspects, such as the complexities involved in human–machine interactions, as well as the need to create safe spaces for research subjects.

Ellen Balka is a Professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. She has published in the fields of gender and technology, health informatics, health and medicine, and community academic research partnerships. She received a YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Workplace Innovation, a career achievement award from British Columbia Faculty Associations, and a Michael Smith Senior Scholar's Award, and she has held international research fellowships in Austria and Norway. Balka served as the Principal Investigator of Action for Health and contributions she and her team made received the Artful Integrators Award for Participatory Design.

Ina Wagner is affiliated to the University of Siegen, Germany after retiring as professor at the Vienna University of Technology, Vienna. A leader in the field of work and technology, her research focusses on work practices and the design of supporting technologies. She has published on computers in hospitals and in architectural planning, feminist perspectives in science and technology, and ethical and political aspects of ICT. She recently coauthored the books 'Future-proofing: Making practice-based IT design sustainable' and 'L'urbanism informel. Au-delà du droit à la ville', and received the Woman's Prize of the City of Vienna and Gabriele Possanner Staatspreis.

Anne Weibert is a research associate at the Institute for Information Systems and New Media at the University of Siegen. She has conducted participatory design projects in socially and culturally diverse settings, working with children and adults, and vulnerable populations including refugees. Her research is focused on computer-based collaborative project work and inherent processes of technology appropriation and media literacy, intercultural learning, and community-building. She is a co-author of 'Future-proofing: Making Practice-Based IT Design Sustainable'. Anne Weibert has been awarded the 'Förderpreis des Augsburger Wissenschaftspreises für Interkulturelle Studien' and the 'Rolf H. Brunswig-Promotionspreis' at the University of Siegen.

Volker Wulf is Professor at the Institute for Information Systems and New Media at the University of Siegen. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of socio-informatics, computer-supported cooperative work, participatory design, and human–computer Interaction. He has published more than 400 academic papers and edited fifteen books including 'Expertise Sharing: Beyond Knowledge Management' and 'Social Capital and Information Technology, End User Development,' and 'Socio-Informatics: A Practice-based Perspective on the Design and Use of IT Artefacts.' He has been appointed to the CHI-Academy and the Leibniz Sozietät der Wissenschaften, Berlin.