ABSTRACT
The principle of gender equality should now be firmly embedded in design and technology, in contrast to the subject’s traditional origins in the distinctly differentiated male and female crafts. During the 1980s, research into gender in design and technology was funded and hotly debated. Gender issues in education continue to be debated, but research evidence (from papers published in design and technology journals and IDATER (International Design and Technology Educational Research) conference reports) does not show gender to be a current issue in design and technology. 1 So, have the gender issues identified prior to the 1980s, and tackled by GIST (Girls into Science and Technology) and WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) projects (Whyte 1986), been resolved? Or is it complacent to make such an assumption?
