Page 26 RAIN November/December 1984 ACCESS: WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY Duri11g winter 1983, Nancy Cosper and I worked 011 "The Wo111en's Move111e11t" special issue of RAIN (volu111eIX, nu111ber 4). 111 the issue, we discussed fe111i11ist concems i11volvi11g politics, spirituality1 i11tematio11al devclop111ent, health, and tech110logy. The articles a11d access that stirred the 111ost queries fro/// readers and fro111 other publications were the ones 011 wol/le11 and tech11(1logy. So what about wo111e11 and technology? A group of wo111e11 i11 Portla11d.(111yself i11cludedY, have been 111eeti11g to discuss the u11derpi1111i11gs a11d fabric of this subject. Research in to the i111plicatio11s of the future of wo111e11 all(/ tech11ology-access to, education about, a11d e111ploy111e11t in-is new, and what exists te11ds to be sca11t a11d 11011co11clusive. There are 111a11y ways to approach this so111eti111es unwieldy topic, m11gi11g fro111 exa111i11atio11 of the past . (how W()l/1e11 have co11 tribu fed to the dcvelop111e11 t of technology) to m1 exploration of the future (how wo111e11 can i11f!ue11ce the design and direction of tech11ology). A parallel ave11ue for us to co11sidcr is how differc11t tec/1110/ogics affect us: reproductive tech110/ogies (birth control, birthing 111ethods, genetic e11gi11eeri11g); workplace technologies (videodisplay tcr111i11als, col/lputers, tclcco1111mmicatio11s); and do111estic technologies (111icrowave ove11s, cl1e111ical deterge11ts, food additives). . Tech11ology presents us witlz decisions, roles, a11d optio11s, but it als~.forccs us to co11sider-ti111e, health, and safety factors. Tire followi11g reviews highlight so111e of tire . current literature that cn11 help us to develop our own fe111inist!hu11w1.1ist assess111e11t 6f tech 11ology and co11sidcr lww ·tec/1110/ogy _ affects our day-to-day lives a11d values. - Mil/Ii i\11.aduro Machina Ex Dea: Feminist Perspectives on Technology, edited by Joan Rothschild, 1983, 233 pp., $10.95 from: Pergamon Press Maxwell House Fairview Park Elmsford, NY 10S23 This collection of essays by many critical thinkers presents a broad range of · thought-provoking ideas concerning women and technology. The beginning essays delve into the politics, history, and future implications of narrowly defined topics such as the mathematization of engineering, the effects of office automation, and a theoretical analysis of housework. Three essays in the middle of the book sketch the far-reaching connections between values and technology. Carolyn Merchant's "Mining the Earth's Womb" traces the history and allegory of mining, posing parallels of this pra~tice to natUre, our Mother Earth. Ynestra King charts the path and evolution of the ecofeminist movement, and Evelyn Fox Keller unravels the popular mythologies surrounding women and science. This all leads to a set of essays·at the end of the book exploring the edges of feminist assessq1ent of technology, examining the questions we need to ask to change the future. Although this is a scholarly collection, it is approachable, and it provides a frame work for making our own assessment of the role of women in both social and technological chai1ge. -Mimi Maduro· The Technological Woman: Interfacing with Tomorrow, edited by Jan Zimmerman, 1983, 296 pp., $21.50 cloth from: Praeger Publishers CBS Educational and Professional Publishing 521 Fifth A venue New York, NY 10175 In March 1981, a conference on Future, Technology, and Women was held at San Di.ego State 1:-J~iversity. The conference proceedings from this event were the seed for this book. Several of the authors cited In Machi11a Ex Dea are also contributors to this collection of essays. The issues covered in this volume include women and appropriate technology, women and transportation, word processing, surrogate motnerhood, abortion, and bluecollar jobs.Some pieces paint a gloomy picture·for women; others point to the opportunities we have to influence and fully participate in the technological change. The section on workplace technology themes, A Living Wage, includes several sobering perspectives, including: "Paths to Power in High Technology Organizations," "Bambi Meets Godzilla: Life in the Corporate Jungle," and "New Jobs in New Technologies: Experienced Only Need Apply." There are many vantage points from which to explore women and technology issues: workplace health, reproductive rights, housework, computers. This book can help you sort out the perspectives. -Mimi Maduro Dynamos and Virgins Revisited: Women and Technological Change ill History, edited by Martha Moore Trescott, 1979, 280 pp~, $16..50 cloth from: The Scarecrow Press 52 Liberty Street Metuchen, NJ 08840 This set of essays differs from Tire Tcc/1110logical Wo111a11 and .'v1.achi11a Ex Dea in that it uncovers much "found" history (herstory). Selections include portraits of women inventors, scientists, and entrepreneu.rs as role models and leaders. The book also gives insights into the participation of women in the carpet and paper industries. -Mimi Maduro
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