Athena in the World of Techne: The Gender Dimension of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Authors

  • Marina Ranga Stanford University, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford CA 94305, US
  • Henry Etzkowitz Stanford University, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford CA 94305, US

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242010000100001

Keywords:

gender, women, innovation, technology, entrepreneurship.

Abstract

Long confined to the realm of feminist studies, issues pertaining to women’s access, participation, advancement and reward are rising to prominence in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship –areas traditionally characterised either by gender-blindness or male dominance. The implications of this shift are wide-ranging but the mechanisms by which it takes place are little known. We Discuss causes of the relatively small numbers of women scientists, researchers, innovators or entrepreneurs, the exceedingly slow pace of transition from inequality to equality and the usually lower hierarchical positions than men’s in academia or business, women’s hidden roles in technological change and an exemplary instance of women’s leading role in a major technological innovation with wide social impact, in the context of major changes arising in the transition from the Industrial to the Knowledge Society.

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Author Biographies

Marina Ranga, Stanford University, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford CA 94305, US

Marina Ranga is a Faculty Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, US, Visiting Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University New York and Visiting Fellow at Sussex University, School of Business, Management and Economics, UK. Her research interests include national and regional innovation systems, policies and strategies, Triple Helix interactions and the evolution of the entrepreneurial university, as well as the gender dimension in innovation, technology transfer and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission for Science and Technology for Development and of the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Expert Group on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies. She is the Chair of ‘The gender dimension of University-Industry- Government interactions: Past imperfect, present tense’ Plenary Session of the Triple Helix 8 International Conference (Madrid, October 2010). She co-authored 'The Coming Gender Revolution in Science' in the New Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, MIT Press, 2008 (with Etzkowitz et al) and is currently working on the book Gender Dynamics in Science and Technology: The Vanish Box Phenomenon, co-authored with Henry Etzkowitz.

Henry Etzkowitz, Stanford University, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford CA 94305, US

Henry Etzkowitz is a Faculty Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, US and Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Business School, UK. He is a scholar of international reputation in innovation studies as the originator of the ‘Entrepreneurial University’ and ‘Triple Helix’ concepts that link university with industry and government at national and regional levels. He is also a leading scholar in gender in innovation studies, and co-author of an iconic book in the field Athena Unbound: The Advancement of Women in Science and Technology (Cambridge University Press, 2000). He also co-authored “The Coming Gender Revolution in Science” in The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (MIT Press, 2008). He is currently working on a new book Gender Dynamics in Science and Technology: The Vanish Box Phenomenon (co-authored with Marina Ranga). Prior to coming to Stanford, Henry held the Chair in Management of Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise at Newcastle University Business School, UK and served as Visiting Professor in the Department of Technology and Society, Stony Brook University, US.

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Published

2010-06-06

How to Cite

Ranga, M., & Etzkowitz, H. (2010). Athena in the World of Techne: The Gender Dimension of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 5(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242010000100001

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Introduction