This book offers fresh insight into women's mastery of technologies commonly associated with men, with important implications for institutional efforts to identify and support technical proficiency among girls and women. The work is structured across five original case studies featuring: breast cancer survivors in Newfoundland who constructed a wooden dragon boat using hand and power tools; Egyptian women who used information and communication technologies for political action during the Revolution of 2011; pioneer female audio engineers in the United States working in live concert and studio venues; U.S. female commercial airline pilots who mastered the complexity of flying large aircraft; and a university-educated woman working in sewer maintenance and repair for the City of Detroit in the 1970s. The case studies capture women's own voices and present a range of historical and geographic locations. A major contribution of this volume is the multidisciplinary analytical framework used to explain women's motivation to engage with non-traditional technologies, the role of peer and political support in encouraging persistence, and informal as well as formal knowledge and skill acquisition. Above all, it is a story of women's empowerment - individually and collectively. This is a unique book suitable for undergraduates and graduates in the fields of Women's and Gender Studies; Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies; Engineering Education; and Adult Education.

This book offers fresh insight into women's mastery of technologies commonly associated with men, with important implications for institutional efforts to identify and support technical proficiency among girls and women. The work is structured across five original case studies featuring: breast cancer survivors in Newfoundland who constructed a wooden dragon boat using hand and power tools; Egyptian women who used information and communication technologies for political action during the Revolution of 2011; pioneer female audio engineers in the United States working in live concert and studio venues; U.S. female commercial airline pilots who mastered the complexity of flying large aircraft; and a university-educated woman working in sewer maintenance and repair for the City of Detroit in the 1970s. The case studies capture women's own voices and present a range of historical and geographic locations. A major contribution of this volume is the multidisciplinary analytical framework used to explain women's motivation to engage with non-traditional technologies, the role of peer and political support in encouraging persistence, and informal as well as formal knowledge and skill acquisition. Above all, it is a story of women's empowerment - individually and collectively. This is a unique book suitable for undergraduates and graduates in the fields of Women's and Gender Studies; Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies; Engineering Education; and Adult Education.

"This book is essential reading for those practicing or studying technology management. It goes beyond rational technical introductions to technology management to include the social, human, and political world of organizational life. Organizations need to understand and address these dimensions if they are to succeed in improving their innovation processes, and also create a humane workplace."

Dr. Carol Haddad is a professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Technology at Eastern Michigan University, where she teaches graduate courses and conducts research on workplace technology and training partnerships. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and an M.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

"This book is essential reading for those practicing or studying technology management. It goes beyond rational technical introductions to technology management to include the social, human, and political world of organizational life. Organizations need to understand and address these dimensions if they are to succeed in improving their innovation processes, and also create a humane workplace."

Dr. Carol Haddad is a professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Technology at Eastern Michigan University, where she teaches graduate courses and conducts research on workplace technology and training partnerships. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and an M.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.