Mothers and Daughters of Invention

Written in an engaging and accessible style, this first broadly focused compensatory history of technology not only includes women's contributions but begins the long-overdue task of redefining technology and significant technology and to value these contributions correctly. Stanley traces women's inventions in five vital areas of technology worldwide--agriculture, medicine, reproduction, machines, and computers--from prehistory (or origin) forward, profiling hundreds of women, both famous and obscure. The author does not ignore theory. She contributes a paradigm for male takeovers of technologies originated by women.

AUTUMN STANLEY is an independent feminist scholar from Portola Valley, California. A member of the Institute for Historical Study (Berkeley, California), she has published widely on gender roles and on women in science and technology. She is currently working on a book on gender and technology.