Gender and Technology

The goal of this section of our site is to examine how gender and technology function in our society and foster a better understanding of the impact of this interaction in our daily lives.

This page offers resources to enrich and add to Peer Power presentations, allowing students, teachers, and Peer Power presenters to further explore connections between gender and technology.

So what do you mean by gender? And what is "technology?"

Don't sex and gender mean the same thing?

Actually, Sex and Gender are two different things.

Sex is a matter of biology -- whether one is male or female based on their chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy. Gender refers to the social and psychological aspects of individuals -- what we tend to view as "masculine" and "feminine," for example what one wears, eats, aspires to, enjoys etc).

We are born with our sex; we had no choice about the matter. However, we learn gender.

And what is technology?

In terms of this website, a broad defintion of technology is used. Many assume that technology only refers to high tech devices, such as computers and the internet. This is a narrow and limited definition of technology.

Technology includes any tool or device that we use to manipulate or change our environment and surroundings, usually as a means for improving our quality of life. This definition allows for an examination of a broader understanding of technology that addresses computers, medical technology, machines in the home, and the role of simple tools in our lives. This approach also challenges those using all of these forms of technology to examine how and why they use it and the impact on their personal lives as well as on a national and global scale.