Audrey Lewis MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020
Our Gender Bias: Closing Gender Divides in Technology, Computer Science and Engineering Through Education
New and recurring gender bias is created from a lack of female-identified input and knowledge throughout the production of technical artifacts and systems. These biases are passed down through creations such as the home computer, hardware and software development, household appliances, transportation methods, floating vegetable farms, and more. This project looks at how youth and the United States Public Education system has responded since the 1920’s to the narrative of gender inequality surrounding Technology, Computer Science and Engineering. This project also explores what initiatives current single-sex youth programs are doing to directly fight this problem. Stepping outside of obvious problems and solutions, I present different perspectives on technology bias from a producer to a consumer level. Ultimately, I look to deconstruct the binary barriers of femininity and masculinity and create new perspectives between gender identity and technological artifacts or systems.