Introduction to the Handbook of Gender and Technology

Despite the progress made by women and other gender minorities, in breaking down barriers that have held them back, they are still significantly underrepresented in the technology fields. The Handbook of Gender and Technology: Environment, Identity, Individual takes a comprehensive look at societal, organizational, and individual factors that affect gender in relationship to technology use and technology careers to understand the factors that might be enabling or deterring women’s participation. The purpose of the introduction chapter is to provide background and context for the chapters that are included in the edited volume. The chapters in this book demonstrate the way in which gender barriers (and the dismantling of them) result from a combination of societal influences, structural barriers, and varied individual responses to them. The conceptual framing of the book follows the individual differences theory of gender and IT (IDTGIT) and the book structure reflects the source of influences on people: the external societal and organizational environments; one’s intersectional identity; and individual influences. The chapters also address the interaction between research and intervention by considering one or more of the following goals: raising awareness about stereotypes, biases, and barriers; changing attitudes about who can participate in STEM careers; and motivating behavioral change to dismantle stereotypes and other barriers. The book offers a single source to those interested in knowing more about the topic of gender and technology, and about state-of-the-art research and interventions.