Gender-Fluid Geek Girls

Abstract

How do technically-skilled women negotiate the male-dominated environments of technology firms? This article draws upon interviews with female programmers, technical writers, and engineers of diverse racial backgrounds and sexual orientations employed in the San Francisco tech industry. Using intersectional analysis, this study finds that racially dominant (white and Asian) women, who identified as LGBTQ and presented as genderfluid, reported a greater sense of belonging in their workplace. They are perceived as more competent by male colleagues and avoided microaggressions that were routine among conventionally feminine, heterosexual women. We argue that a spectrum of belonging operates in these occupational spaces dominated by men. Although white and Asian women successfully navigated workplace hostilities by distancing themselves from conventional heterosexual femininity, this strategy reinforces inequality regimes that privilege male workers. These findings provide significant theoretical insights about how race, sexuality, and gender interact to reproduce structural inequalities in the new economy.

Levelling the playing field? Towards a critical-social perspective on digital entrepreneurship

“…Conversely, the online environment will likely have social, political, economic and cultural implications for offline society, supporting Wajcman's assertion that it will be both a source and consequence of gendered power relations (2010). Although some cyberfeminists argue that ICTs hold potential to positively influence gender relations (Oleksy et al, 2012) it is generally understood that men's domination of science and technology has, in most contexts, continued (Alfrey and Twine, 2017;Wajcman, 2004;Wong, 2017). Socio-economic inequality…”

“…tends to be reproduced or exacerbated online (Boyd 2009;Marwick 2014;Author et al 2017), and girls and women use the Internet in complex ways that both resist and reinforce hierarchies of gender and race (Cummings and O'Neil, 2015;Daniels, 2009). Initiatives aiming to address social inequality through technology should note that the digital technologies upon which the online environment relies are subject to both the effects of social hierarchies and the decisions of social actors, particularly tech developers (Lanier, 2011); a striking lack of diversity has been a recurrent issue in these populations (Alfrey and Twine, 2017;Wong, 2017). On the user side, those engaged in online activities are embedded in offline contexts, bringing their worldviews, knowledge, experiences and values to the online space (Kolko, 2000;Rybas and Gajjala, 2007).…”

“…Adopting a cyberfeminist perspective on DE calls attention to a number of relevant questions for the field, namely: who has access to what kinds of technological knowledge and skills, in what ways this affects their capability to engage in DE, and when they do engage, at what levels are they able to do so? Feminist theorists of technology, work, labour and entrepreneurship(Alfrey and Twine, 2017;Kelan, 2009;Marlow and Carter, 2004;Wajcman, 2010) point to horizontal and vertical occupational segregation that keeps women underrepresented in the technology industry and particularly the high-tech and management roles that support the development of the knowledge bases needed for successful tech startup. A recent report by the British Business Bank (2019) finds that in the UK, 26% of employees in digital industries are women, and only 35% of managerial positions are held by women Alfrey and Twine (2017).…”

I Am a Leader, I Am a Mother, I Can Do This! The Moderated Mediation of Psychological Capital, Work–Family Conflict, and Having Children on Well-Being of Women Leaders

“…The current sample was homogeneous concerning gender, and varied in terms of years of experience, tenure, work-places, economic sector, and hierarchical levels. Research with a gender perspective [101][102][103] highlights the importance of intersectionality as a theoretical approach to understand the ways in which identity elements interact within a specific social identity, namely a woman leader. Further research with more balanced samples in terms of these variables would contribute to the generalizability of the findings among women leaders, and contribute to extending the generalizability of the current findings across gender, race, class, and nationality.…”

The Rise of Programming and the Stalled Gender Revolution

“…Moreover, the social and cultural processes shaping employers' preferences may also shape the psychological processes through which individuals come to form perceptions and expectations about themselves (Cech et al 2011;Charles and Bradley 2009;Cooper and Weaver 2003;Correll 2001;Ridgeway 1997). For instance, recent evidence suggests that women often lack a sense of belonging to the culture of technology jobs, where masculinity and heteronormativity are the norm (Alfrey and Twine 2017;Rosenbloom et al 2008;Wynn and Correll 2017). Women in high-technology firms also exhibit significantly higher attrition rates than men (Hill, Corbett, and St. Rose 2010).…”