This paper presents the case that research on gender and information systems (IS), from both quantitative and qualitative traditions, is problematic as the concept of gender continues to remain under-theorised. This will be elaborated upon with a critique of some recent qualitative and quantitative research papers that have been published in key IS journals within a ten-year period.

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This paper reviews the relatively small body of work in computer ethics which looks at the question of whether gender makes any difference to ethical decisions. There are two strands of writing on gender and computer ethics. The first focuses on problems of women's access to computer technology; the second concentrates on whether there are differences between men and women's ethical decision making in relation to information and computing technologies (ICTs). I criticize the latter area, arguing that such studies survey student audiences, that they emphasize the result of an ethical decision over the process of arriving at the decision, that they are problematic in relation to research methodology and that they are undertheorized. Given that traditional ethical theories largely ignore gender, I offer a gender based ethics in terms of feminist ethics as the best place to look for theoretical substance. The paper concludes by considering how feminist ethics can be combined with empirical studies that emphasize observation and interviewing in order to move gender and computer ethics onward from statistical studies of men's and women's ethical decisions toward more substantially theorized studies of areas in computer ethics which have gender implications, such as privacy and power.

This paper addresses ways in which theorizing gender may be important in forming an understanding of the topic of emancipation, which is central to the new critical information systems (IS) based on the thinking of Habermas. After briefly discussing some problems with current research on gender and IS the paper argues that appropriate feminist theory may be useful in augmenting our understanding of foundational issues such as emancipation. The development of feminist philosophy and epistemology is briefly introduced. Habermas’ ‘ideal speech situation’ is problematized in relation to feminist writing on male and female communication juxtaposed with recent research in computer-mediated communications. The paper continues by exploring the concept of emancipation through feminist epistemology and it closes with a preliminary consideration of how these concerns may be applied to critical IS.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate information communications technologies (ICT)-mediated inclusion and exclusion in terms of sexuality through a study of a commercial social networking web site for gay men. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses an approach based on technological inscription and the commodification of difference to study Gaydar, a commercial social networking site. Findings -Through the activities, events and interactions offered by Gaydar, the study identifies a series of contrasting identity constructions and market segmentations that are constructed through the cyclic commodification of difference. These are fuelled by a particular series of meanings attached to gay male sexualities which serve to keep gay men positioned as a niche market. Research limitations/implications -The research centres on the study of one, albeit widely used, web site with a very specific set of purposes. The study offers a model for future research on sexuality and ICTs. Originality/value -This study places sexuality centre stage in an ICT-mediated environment and provides insights into the contemporary phenomenon of social networking. As a sexualised object, Gaydar presents a semiosis of politicised messages that question heteronormativity while simultaneously contributing to the definition of an increasingly globalised, commercialised and monolithic form of gay male sexuality defined against ICT.

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This article investigates stories of the future in relation to women in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector through the development of a theoretical and methodological stance towards the future. Given concerns about the future of the ICT sector in terms of skills shortages and gender imbalances, an understanding of how female ICT professionals view this future is vital. Using data gathered from female ICT professionals in the UK, we look specifically at gendered stories about the future in relation to hybrid/bridger ICT workers, the practices of offshoring/global locating ICT work and the under-representation of women in ICT. Such stories of the future are part of wider discourses on gender relations in late modern society, and so their examination becomes a conduit for problematizing contemporary discourse about gender, work, time and technology. IntroductionW omen remain under-represented in the information and communications technology (ICT) profession in the UK and this seems likely to continue in the future. In terms of recruitment trends in the UK it is estimated that the overall proportion of women working in ICT occupations is around 16 per cent. In addition, women are concentrated in the lower paid ICT sectors (e-skills, 2006). Regarding retention, the IBM/Women in IT Champions report (2003) on achieving workforce diversity indicates that in recent years more women leave the ICT industry than are being recruited, so while 36 per cent of new IT engagements in the UK (in the first quarter of 2002) were women, in the same period women accounted for 46 per cent of all leavers (2003, p. 6). The low numbers of women in science, engineering and technology (SET) sectors more generally is of concern to liberal feminists 1 and 'technofeminists' 2 alike. From a latter perspective, Wajcman writes:What has been missing from much of the debate about getting women into technoscience is that their under-representation profoundly affects how the world is made. Every aspect of our lives is touched by sociotechnical systems, and unless women are in the engine rooms of technological production, we cannot get our hands on the levers of power. (2004, p. 111) Wajcman highlights the importance of imagining how different, if at all, our sociotechnical world might be if women had a greater involvement in the shaping of technologies now and in the future, while stressing the important role that women's agency plays in transforming technologies. Those in industrial and educational sectors are concerned about the low numbers of women participating in computing and ICT precisely because computer competence and engagement with ICTs has a broader impact on social life:The fact that women have practically no voice in the creation of major technological innovations that control our lives is surely to the detriment of the industry and society as a whole. (Selby et al., 1997, p. 6) While there may be a highly problematic 'genderless' or 'gender-neutral' understanding of technological design and an absence of wo...