ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the important role played by gender in the context of science and technology, using critical contributions from multidisciplinary feminist scholarship. It investigates key themes that are critical to understanding the intersection between gender and science and technology, including: who does science, and how gender affects what is done in science: how science is depicted and communicated, and how gender shapes these portrayals; how scientific and technological knowledge is gendered, and the broader implications of such gendering; and what needs to be done to improve science and technology in relation to these well-recognized issues relating to gender. This chapter shows how ongoing interrogation and engagement with issues at the intersection of gender and science and technology make significant contributions to improving not only our understanding of gender but the very fundamentals of science itself and how it can most productively be practiced for the benefit of all. Taking account of gender and diversity more generally, particularly using feminist perspectives, allows us to utilize scientific approaches in more contextualized and hence arguably more rigorous ways, requiring close attention to assumptions and concepts, which in turn can generate considerable transformative potential.
