Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal
To challenge the masculinity of the professional water sector, I take in this paper one of the core questions of feminist technology studies as the starting point: why are there so few expert women in technology? By means of a critical feminist reading of policy and research documents, from the 1950...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Dynamics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1207941/full |
| _version_ | 1797768425454436352 |
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| author | Janwillem Liebrand |
| author_facet | Janwillem Liebrand |
| author_sort | Janwillem Liebrand |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To challenge the masculinity of the professional water sector, I take in this paper one of the core questions of feminist technology studies as the starting point: why are there so few expert women in technology? By means of a critical feminist reading of policy and research documents, from the 1950s onwards, focusing on Nepal's history of rural development and technology transfer, I trace the origins of expert women's limited participation in politically relevant processes of water decision making. The analysis reveals that both technology-and-development—and women/gender-and-development policy narratives have validated, and continue to validate, women expert's subordinate position in the Nepali water sector. This is partially so, because donors and national governments insufficiently recognize the racial and sexist assumptions that are historically rooted into these policy narratives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:53:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f83ab5f76fd45bd8c5c90a5d82270bb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-2726 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:53:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Dynamics |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f83ab5f76fd45bd8c5c90a5d82270bb2023-07-31T22:42:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Dynamics2673-27262023-07-01510.3389/fhumd.2023.12079411207941Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in NepalJanwillem LiebrandTo challenge the masculinity of the professional water sector, I take in this paper one of the core questions of feminist technology studies as the starting point: why are there so few expert women in technology? By means of a critical feminist reading of policy and research documents, from the 1950s onwards, focusing on Nepal's history of rural development and technology transfer, I trace the origins of expert women's limited participation in politically relevant processes of water decision making. The analysis reveals that both technology-and-development—and women/gender-and-development policy narratives have validated, and continue to validate, women expert's subordinate position in the Nepali water sector. This is partially so, because donors and national governments insufficiently recognize the racial and sexist assumptions that are historically rooted into these policy narratives.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1207941/fullNepalwater sectortechnologygenderracedevelopment |
| spellingShingle | Janwillem Liebrand Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal Frontiers in Human Dynamics Nepal water sector technology gender race development |
| title | Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal |
| title_full | Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal |
| title_short | Why so few expert women in the water sector? Masculinity, race, sex, and policy narratives of technology, gender and development in Nepal |
| title_sort | why so few expert women in the water sector masculinity race sex and policy narratives of technology gender and development in nepal |
| topic | Nepal water sector technology gender race development |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1207941/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT janwillemliebrand whysofewexpertwomeninthewatersectormasculinityracesexandpolicynarrativesoftechnologygenderanddevelopmentinnepal |