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Week One Reading: Introduction to Techno feminism Summary

The short introduction to Techno Feminism allows one to truly understand Wajcman's stance regarding women's roles within the vastly evolving world of technology. Throughout the introduction pages, Wajcman reiterates the past struggles women have overcome to be seen within the workplace. While going through the different periods of these struggles, Wajcman does a great job using examples from different time periods to allow the reader to connect to women's hardships. For instance, the beginning struggles with machines and gender role issues were very extreme compared to the problems women are faced with today. Machines such as the car were made to meet the average white male's expectations. Women were not even in the equation during this period. The workplace and world have come a long way from this point and Wajcman does not miss a beat in her discussion about current times.

Wajcman brings up statistics of gender in the ICT workplace. It is within this topic that Wajcman fully shows her extreme feminist beliefs. She recognizes the increasing number of women now in this field to be considered amazing, but not dominating. While she acknowledges the number of women working throughout this field has surely grown, she focuses her attention to the increase that still needs to occur for women within the workplace.

Up until this Wajcman has attributed technology to the unequal gender roles in the workplace. This remains consistent for the first half of the reading. After applauding the accomplishment of women becoming more powerful and more abundant in the workplace, she begins to turn the fault onto a different subject. It is here that she begins to narrow in on society.

Today's society uses technology for far more than work. Technology is used for socializing, browsing, learning, entertaining, and much more. All of these extra outlets evolve and shape the attributes, design, and need for technology. And as we all know, technology is ever adapting. Wajcman does a great job explaining how the role of gender use within IT demands further shaping of technology.

Wajcman claims today's society to have negative effects on women’s progress furthering. She believes this is due to the extension of the workplace through the use of technology. Use of email, cell phone calls, and texts are all factors that allow work to extend beyond the office. Wajcman notes not many jobs stop once the workday is over. Here she pinpoints society’s fault on women’s progression. Due to society, the norms of socializing have changed. Employees feel the right to posses and to access others within the workforce at all times! Regardless of the time, day, or location, an employee can always be contacted. These newly developed characteristics of the work field take hiring beyond gender and to personal need to excel. The need to excel being the commitment and time one will put fourth to climb to the top. She notes that it does not matter the gender of the employee, but their willingness to always be available to work

Throughout this reading I found myself struggling with many of Wajcman’s beliefs. While many of her words were true and relatable, there were times when I felt as though she was stretching to connect the problem to women. For instance, technology changes allowing work to access an employee at all times. I understand her point of this change becoming the new qualifier of employment opportunities. However, to note that only women will see negative affects from this is hypocritical of her whole text. Why would women not want to be contacted from work outside of work more than men would? I feel this allows the reader to view women as a mother, housekeeper, and wife outside of work. Which is fine if women are, but aren’t there the same needs of a man outside of work? Are there not men who work and come home to a family, wife, and house up keepings? My point is not that Wajcman has stated these things, but that she has implied them by noting only the negativity women will see from the extension of work.