Gender Inequalities in Tech-driven Research and Innovation : Living the Contradiction

ePDF and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The Nordic countries are regarded as frontrunners in promoting equality, yet women’s experiences on the ground are in many ways at odds with this rhetoric. Putting the spotlight on the lived experiences of women working in tech-driven research and innovation areas in the Nordic countries, this volume explores why, despite numerous programmes, women continue to constitute a minority in these sectors. Contributors flesh out the differences and similarities across different Nordic countries and explore how the shifts in labour market conditions have impacted on women in research and innovation. This is an invaluable contribution to global debates around the mechanisms that maintain gendered structures in research and innovation, from academia to biotechnology and IT.ePDF and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The Nordic countries are regarded as frontrunners in promoting equality, yet women’s experiences on the ground are in many ways at odds with this rhetoric. Putting the spotlight on the lived experiences of women working in tech-driven research and innovation areas in the Nordic countries, this volume explores why, despite numerous programmes, women continue to constitute a minority in these sectors. Contributors flesh out the differences and similarities across different Nordic countries and explore how the shifts in labour market conditions have impacted on women in research and innovation. This is an invaluable contribution to global debates around the mechanisms that maintain gendered structures in research and innovation, from academia to biotechnology and IT Front Cover Gender Inequalities in Tech-Driven Research and Innovation: Living the Contradiction Copyright information Table of contents List of tables Notes on Contributors Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Gender, research and innovation The Nordic countries and gender equality: similarities and differences Structure of the volume Notes References 2 Research and Innovation in the Academy: A Precarious Business Introduction Digital Humanities as research and innovation in academe Unsettledness and Charles Tilly’s inequality mechanisms Methodology and data analysis Issue 1: Uncertain support – the case of the work that was closed down Issue 2: The vicissitudes of interdisciplinarity Issue 3: Caught in [sic] the Scylla of project work and the Charybdis of unsettled funding Discussion and conclusion: The price of unsettledness and precarity Note References 3 Navigating Career Imaginaries in Academia: A View from Women Researchers in Biotechnology Introduction Data and method Future horizons of biotechnology: from hype to harsh reality Career imaginaries Tenure track positions Academic entrepreneurship Leaving academia Discussion Acknowledgements References 4 Unconventional Routes into ICT Work: Learning from Women’s Own Solutions for Working around Gendered Barriers Introduction Women’s entry points into ICT education and work: a literature review Theoretical framework Methodological framework Qualitative interviews with women in ICT work Grounded theory approach Three unconventional routes into ICT education and work A delayed entry into ICT education (route 1) Digitalization of (non-technical) disciplines (route 2) Non-technological professions engaged in ICT research and innovation (route 3) Discussion: interest, ability belief and a sense of belonging Conclusion: documenting a failure or proposing a solution? References 5 Changes in Funding and the Intensification of Gender Inequalities in Research and Innovation Introduction Gender in competitive R&I funding Funding in research and innovation Data and method Gender inequality in recruitment within declining funding Coping with innovation funding and gendered inequality From hype to declining resources Discussion Conclusions Acknowledgements References 6 Promoting Gender Equality in STEM-oriented Universities: Institutional Policy Measures in Sweden, Finland and Norway Introduction Categorization of gender equality measures Targeted measures Training measures Organizational responsibility measures Preferential treatment measures Methodological underpinnings of the study: Case selection Data and method Findings Conclusions and discussion Note References 7 Uniformity Dressed as Diversity? Reorienting Female Associate Professors Introduction The Balance project at the University of Agder Beyond body counts: understanding the production of uniformity Identifying ruling relations Emotional reorientation The case of UiA and our research data The practical, mental and emotional ‘work’ of preliminary evaluations Gendered academic ideals Repurposing feminism The gendered global knowledge economy Concluding remarks Notes References 8 “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” How Early Career Researchers Imagine the (Im)Possible Future in Academia Introduction Gendered career trajectories: patterns and perceptions Empirical data, methods and analytical strategies “Skills, help and luck, basically” “If you want to live a balanced life, it is difficult to become a professor” “Being stuck at home” “When you’ve already invested a lot, it is hard to let go” Assembling academic career choices: discussion and concluding remarks References 9 “If It Had Been Only Me, It Would Not Have Worked Out”: Women Negotiating Conflicting Challenges of ICT Work and Family in Norway Introduction Sources of negotiating the work-life balance for women working in ICT Theoretical framework Methodology Interviews with women working in ICT Analytical framework Analysis The shortcomings of public childcare Not having support in the private sphere Discussion Conclusion References 10 Co-creative Platforms for Societal Impact of Research on Gender Issues: A Comparative Study of The Gender Academy and Gender Contact Point Introduction Previous research Co-creation Social innovation Gendered social innovation Research design The Gender Academy Aim and organization Strategies and challenges Gender Contact Point Aim and organization Strategies and challenges Analysis Co-creative forms and forums Mediating interests Societal impact and relevance of research on gender issues Notes References 11 The Discourse of Rurality in Women’s Professional-life Narratives: Gender and ICT in Rural Norway Introduction Literature review Theoretical framework Methodology Interviews Analytical methods Rurality in women’s experiences of ICT work Gendering of ICT work Place-belongingness The rural idyll and its threats Discussion Conclusion References Index Back Cover This volume centres on the lived experience of women working in tech-driven research and innovation areas in the Nordic countries. The author examines how women negotiate living in the contradictory situation of a strongly embedded public equality rhetoric and the fact that, despite numerous programmes, they constitute a minority .