💋Intro to Feminist Philosophy Unit 9 – Feminism in Science and Technology

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Feminism advocates for gender equality, challenging patriarchal norms and systemic oppression
• STEM fields encompass science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
• Gender bias refers to prejudice or discrimination based on gender, often favoring men over women
• Objectivity in science assumes knowledge can be obtained impartially, free from personal biases
• Situated knowledge recognizes that all knowledge is shaped by the knower's social and cultural context
  • Includes factors such as gender, race, class, and lived experiences
• Intersectionality examines how multiple marginalized identities (gender, race, class) interact to shape experiences of oppression
• Feminist epistemology interrogates how gender influences the production and legitimation of knowledge
• Standpoint theory asserts that marginalized groups have unique perspectives that can generate new knowledge

Historical Context of Women in STEM

• Women have long been underrepresented in STEM fields due to systemic barriers and discrimination
• In the early 20th century, women were often relegated to roles as assistants or calculators rather than principal investigators
  • Example: NASA's "hidden figures" like Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson
• The women's rights movement of the 1960s-70s advocated for greater gender equality in education and the workplace
• Title IX of the Education Amendments (1972) prohibited gender discrimination in federally funded educational programs
  • Led to increased enrollment of women in STEM majors at the undergraduate level
• Despite progress, women remain underrepresented in many STEM fields, particularly in leadership positions
• "Leaky pipeline" metaphor describes how women leave STEM at various career stages due to systemic barriers
• Efforts to increase diversity in STEM are ongoing, recognizing the value of diverse perspectives in driving innovation

Feminist Critiques of Scientific Method

• Traditional scientific method is often presented as objective and value-neutral
• Feminist scholars argue that science is shaped by the social and historical context in which it is produced
  • Includes the gender, race, and class of researchers and the dominant cultural norms of the time
• Androcentrism in science centers men as the default or norm, often ignoring or devaluing women's experiences
  • Example: early medical research that excluded women as subjects, assuming male physiology as universal
• Feminist empiricism seeks to eliminate gender bias in scientific research through stricter adherence to empirical methods
• Feminist standpoint theory argues that starting from the lived experiences of marginalized groups can generate new research questions and insights
• Strong objectivity acknowledges the role of the researcher's social position in shaping scientific knowledge
• Situated knowledge recognizes that all knowledge is partial and context-dependent, challenging claims of universal truth
• Incorporating feminist perspectives can lead to more robust and socially responsible science

Gender Bias in Technology Development

• Technology is often assumed to be gender-neutral, but it can reflect and reinforce societal biases
• Historically, women have been excluded from technology design and development, leading to products that neglect their needs and experiences
  • Example: early voice recognition systems trained primarily on male voices, leading to poorer performance for women users
• Gender stereotypes can influence the design and marketing of tech products
  • Example: early personal computers marketed primarily to boys and men, reinforcing the idea that technology is a masculine domain
• Bias in algorithms and AI systems can perpetuate gender discrimination at scale
  • Example: Amazon's hiring algorithm that penalized resumes containing the word "women's" due to historical hiring patterns
• Lack of diversity in tech workplaces can lead to homogenous perspectives and blind spots in product development
• Inclusive design practices seek to involve diverse users throughout the design process to create more equitable technologies
• Addressing gender bias requires examining the entire tech ecosystem, from education and hiring to product design and deployment

Intersectionality in Science and Tech

• Intersectionality recognizes that gender intersects with other identities like race, class, and disability to shape experiences of marginalization
• Women of color often face compounded discrimination in STEM fields due to the intersection of racism and sexism
  • Example: Black women are severely underrepresented in computing, making up only 3% of the tech workforce
• Intersectional analysis reveals how multiple systems of oppression interact to create unique challenges for individuals
• Diversity initiatives in STEM must consider the full range of marginalized identities, not just gender in isolation
• Intersectional feminist approaches to science and tech seek to center the experiences of those facing multiple forms of oppression
  • Example: disability justice framework that challenges ableism in tech design and advocates for accessibility
• Failure to consider intersectionality can lead to solutions that benefit primarily privileged women while leaving others behind
• Inclusive STEM education and mentorship programs can help support students with intersectional identities
• Collecting and analyzing disaggregated data can reveal disparities and inform targeted interventions

Case Studies: Feminist Innovations

• Feminist perspectives have driven important innovations in science and technology
• Women's health movement advocated for research on women's bodies and health issues historically neglected by male-dominated medical establishment
  • Example: Our Bodies, Ourselves (1970) empowered women with information about their reproductive health
• Feminist hacktivists have used technology to challenge gender-based violence and online harassment
  • Example: Hollaback! online platform for sharing experiences of street harassment and mapping incidents
• Gendered innovations framework integrates sex and gender analysis into all phases of research to create new knowledge and technologies
  • Example: studying sex differences in animal models has revealed insights into pain mechanisms and drug responses
• Feminist design practices prioritize values of empathy, collaboration, and social justice
  • Example: Safetipin mobile app crowdsources safety data to help women navigate public spaces
• Feminist AI aims to develop artificial intelligence systems that are inclusive, equitable, and socially responsible
  • Example: Joy Buolamwini's research on racial and gender bias in facial recognition algorithms
• Feminist makerspaces and hackerspaces provide welcoming environments for women and marginalized groups to learn and create with technology
• These case studies demonstrate the transformative potential of bringing feminist perspectives to bear on science and tech

Challenges and Future Directions

• Despite progress, significant challenges remain for achieving gender equality in STEM
• Stereotypes and bias continue to shape perceptions of women's abilities and fit for STEM careers
  • Example: studies showing that both men and women tend to underestimate women's math abilities
• Harassment and discrimination create hostile environments that push women out of STEM fields
  • Example: high-profile sexual harassment cases in astronomy and other disciplines
• Lack of representation in leadership roles and limited access to mentorship networks disadvantage women
• Unequal caregiving responsibilities and lack of family-friendly policies can hinder women's career advancement
• Narrow definitions of success and merit in STEM can devalue contributions outside of traditional research roles
• Efforts to address these challenges must be systemic and sustained, involving changes to policies, practices, and cultures
• Increasing diversity and inclusion requires active efforts to recruit, retain, and promote underrepresented groups
• Integrating feminist perspectives into STEM education can help create a more inclusive pipeline
• Continued feminist critiques of science and tech are needed to identify and challenge persistent inequities
• By working towards a more just and equitable future, we can harness the full potential of science and technology for social good

Key Thinkers and Their Contributions

• Donna Haraway, author of "A Cyborg Manifesto" (1985), challenged binary distinctions between human/machine and nature/culture
  • Argued for the liberatory potential of technology to destabilize gender and other categories
• Sandra Harding developed feminist standpoint theory, which asserts that research beginning from the lives of marginalized groups can generate new questions and knowledge
  • Advocated for "strong objectivity" that acknowledges the role of the knower in shaping scientific understanding
• Evelyn Fox Keller, physicist and historian of science, critiqued gendered metaphors in biology that portrayed nature as passive and female
  • Examined how gender influences the construction of scientific knowledge in books like Reflections on Gender and Science (1985)
• Judy Wajcman, sociologist of science and technology, analyzed the mutual shaping of gender and technology
  • Argued that technology is not neutral but embodies social relations and power structures
• Patricia Hill Collins developed the concept of intersectionality to describe how race, gender, and class interact to shape Black women's experiences
  • Extended this analysis to examine the matrix of domination in science and technology
• Ruha Benjamin, sociologist and author of Race After Technology (2019), examines how technology can deepen social inequities and discriminatory practices
  • Advocates for a more just and equitable approach to tech development and deployment
• Safiya Noble, author of Algorithms of Oppression (2018), revealed how search engine algorithms can reinforce racism and sexism
  • Calls for greater public accountability and oversight of tech platforms
• These key thinkers, among many others, have shaped the field of feminist science and technology studies and continue to inspire new scholarship and activism