"And Then She Said": Office Stories and What They Tell Us about Gender in the Workplace    

This article calls for a rhetorical perspective on the relationship of gender, communication,and power in the workplace. In doing so, the author uses narrative in two ways.First, narratives gathered in an ethnographic study of an actual workplace, a plasticsmanufacturer, are used as a primary source of data, and second, the findings of this studyare presented by telling the story of two women in this workplace. Arguing that genderin the workplace, like all social identities, is locally constructed through the micro practicesof everyday life, the author questions some of the prevailing assumptions about genderat work and cautions professional communication teachers, researchers, and practitionersagainst unintentionally perpetuating global, decontextualized assumptionsabout gender and language, and their relationship to the distribution and exercise of power at work.

Weiland Herrick, Jeanne. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Gender

Beyond the Masculine Web: Considering Sex and Gender Differences in Arrangement and Delivery on the Web  

Men and women don't browse the Web the same way; one should design for both feminine and masculine webs.

Bowie, Jennifer L. Texas Tech University (2003). Presentations>Web Design>Information Design>Gender

Buxom Girls and Boys in Baseball Hats: Adolescent Avatars in Graphical Chat Spaces  

This paper explores the types of avatars adolescents use in graphical chat spaces and how gender is represented in these avatars. Content analysis found that adolescents predominately utilize publicly available avatars depicting drawn images of Caucasian human forms. Specifically it was found that females adopt postures that indicate subordination to others, while males display psychological withdrawal from the actions around them. The influence of gaming and fantasy is seen in male avatar selection.

Scheidt, Lois Ann. Indiana University (2004). Articles>User Interface>Collaboration>Gender

Communicating for Diversity

Increasing diversity in the workplace and general marketplace is making it increasingly difficult to communicate effectively - whether you're a medical communicator, a procedure writer, a freelance copywriter or a web content writer. This article looks at two main types of barriers to effective communications - global barriers and gender barriers - and then provides insight on the tools available that can help overcome these communication barriers.

Harris, Kerri. Writing Assistance (2006). Articles>Business Communication>International>Gender

Communication and Women in Engineering

Women can be either encouraged or discouraged to take on the role of engineer through communication. Encouraging women to take on the role of engineer is imperative because of the lack of women currently in engineering.

Brown, Sarah. Orange Journal, The (2005). Articles>Workplace>Engineering>Gender

Editing for Gender Neutrality

How to be politically correct without mangling the English language. The goal is that the reader should not notice the writing.

Weber, Jean Hollis. Technical Editors Eyrie (1998). Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Gender

Educational Websites and Gender Equality: An Analysis of How Educational Websites Respond to Gender Differences in Use  

The integration of technology into education includes increased educational Internet and web use. However the websites used in and for education are rarely critically examined, especially in regard to gender equality, design, and use. Print has been argued to carry with it certain attributes that disturb gender equality, so it is likely that electronic writing might cause similar problems.

Bowie, Jennifer L. Texas Tech University (2003). Presentations>Education>Web Design>Gender

An Emerging Electronic Rhetoric of the Body: Arguing the Feminine in Cyberspace  

Some form of a body rhetoric has existed since classical times. If rhetoric can be loosely defined as a means of persuasion, then an electronic rhetoric of the body, for the purposes of this essay, can be defined as the ways in which the body is used to persuade, the ways it becomes the language of a culture for both genders. But what should we consider 'the electronic body' to consist of? The physical body? The mental body? And here is where the problem lies… But before an electronic rhetoric can be established, historical precedent must first be clarified.

Tulley, Ronald J. and Christine E. Tulley. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Rhetoric>Online>Gender

Feminist Theory in Technical Communication: Making Knowledge Claims Visible    

This study extends the corpus of an earlier qualitative content analysis about women and feminism and identifies the knowledge claims and themes in the 20 articles that discuss gender differences. Knowledge claims are reflected in expressions such as androgyny; natural collaborators; hierarchical, dialogic, and asymmetrical modes; web; connected knowers; different voice; ethic of care; ethic of objectivity; continuous with others; connected to the world; the cultural divide; visual metaphor; and gender-free science. Built from knowledge claims, the themes in the 20 articles include gender differences in language use, learning, and knowledge construction; gender differences in collaboration; and reviews of research about gender differences and political calls for action. Although the 20 articles provide little support for the existence of gender differences, by introducing, discussing, testing, and revising new ideas about women and feminism, they serve as an example of the process of knowledge accumulation and remodeling in technical communication.

Smith, Elizabeth Overman 'Betsy' and Isabelle Thompson. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>TC>Theory>Gender

Gender-Neutral Language

One of the most significant changes taking place in English is the rejection of the way that 'man' was assumed to include 'woman'. Most of us want our writing to be friendly and inclusive. How can we avoid using 'man', 'he', and 'his'?

Right Words. Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Gender

Gender-Neutral Technical Writing

In recurring discussions on the TECHWR-L list, many technical writers argue that they write in 'correct English' and are not going to change their style just to suit the political-correctness police. 'I won't use 'they' as a singular pronoun because it's not grammatically correct' and 'Using contrived phrases such as 's/he' is just too awkward' are arguments I've heard frequently in the debate. But using 'incorrect English' or contrived phrases is neither the goal nor the outcome of gender-neutral writing.

Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2002). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Gender

Gender-Neutral Technical Writing

Gender-neutral writing uses language that does not stereotype either sex nor appear to be referring to only one sex when that is not the writer's intention. In this article, you'll see why gender-neutral writing is important for technical writers to use, what gender-neutral writing is not, and how you can use gender-neutral writing in the documents you develop.

Weber, Jean Hollis. TECHWR-L (2002). Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Gender

A Gendered World: Students and Instructional Technologies  

Gender has become a significant issue in the various discussions related to the use of computers and instructional technologies (IT) in higher education. Are gender differences relevant in the students' learning process and their use of technological components in their courses? Is gender significant in determining the use of IT by students in colleges and universities? Does the study of how gender influences students' use of software and presentation formats, throw light on other general behavioural aspects of academic computer-users? This study uses surveys, both direct and online, of students in universities and colleges to explore whether gender is a critical variable in understanding what is labelled as user-friendly computer instruction and learning, Internet searches, and presentation software tools. It also seeks to explore whether and if so why, women students, as distinct from the men, do or do not embrace IT in their learning endeavors or use the new technological tools in handling their courses.

Rajagopal, Indhu and Nis Bojin. First Monday (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Gender

Have Women Websters Achieved Equality On the Internet?

Will cyberspace fulfill our dreams of creating a new work environment where not only women but men can choose to work remotely at home, rocking babies with one hand while pushing pixels with the other? There are no easy answers.

Bucqueroux, Bonnie. Wise-Women (2004). Careers>Web Design>Collaboration>Gender

Landmarks, Links, and Search Engines: Designing Websites for Sex and Gender Navigation Differences  

Although there is myriad research on the Internet and the web, there is limited research on sex and gender differences in web use, especially regarding navigating websites. As a step towards understanding possible differences, I draw from an extensive research study on sex and gender differences in web use. From this study, I present three key areas of sex differences in web navigation and two key areas of gender differences. Along with these differences, I provide several implications for web design. I recommend technical communicators consider not only these differences, but other possible differences to better create truly 'users'-centered design.

Bowie, Jennifer L. STC Proceedings (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Gender

A Meta-Analysis of Journal Articles Intersecting Issues of Internet and Gender    

The propagation and mainstream acceptance of the Internet has become a hot topic addressed in media, business, and scholarly environments. The gender implications of technology are studied in various ways across the disciplines of communications, gender studies, and technology and society. This study overviews and summarizes articles dealing with gender implications of the Internet in journals in these fields. The analysis identified 132 articles during the period of 1995-2003 in 28 publications in which frequencies, trends, and potential gaps were assessed using quantitative and qualitative meta-analysis. Most of the research in this area is being done in technology publications (59.7% of articles). Women's usage of the Internet is the most frequently studied level of participation. Results indicates that the survey method was the most predominant, but various qualitative methods are often employed. Notable themes included those of equal access yet unequal participation, the existence of both negative and positive aspects of the Internet, and the dichotomy of online/offline activities. The purpose of this study was to encourage interest in performing continued research on this topic as women's Internet access meets and exceeds that of men.

Royal, Cindy. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>Research>Technology>Gender

Observations on Entrepreneurship, Instructional Texts, and Personal Interaction    

This article explores the complexity in Rohan's observation that "although texts in progress create community, this function hasn't value; in the world of business works in progress must be free" [1, p. 130]. To do so, the article describes the history of the development of the paper sewing pattern, discusses the role personal communications with consumers played as the genre evolved, and offers observations on the kinds of instruction provided by sewing machine and pattern companies. The extent to which gender and authority are connected in communications between consumers and corporate authors is explored. The article concludes by observing that once a genre is sufficiently established to become a standard, two changes occur: industries adopt authority for only certain types of necessary information, and women's authorship becomes anonymous, corporate, and personal exchanges with consumers are curtailed to save the expense.

Durack, Katherine T. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Instructional Design>Gender

Obtaining Reprints--The Effects of Self-Addressed Return Labels    

This article compares the response rates for obtaining journal reprints from colleagues when the requests are made using postcards with or without a self-addressed return label. Higher response rates were obtained from the cards with the self-addressed return labels, and more women responded than did men, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Hartley, James. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Research>Collaboration>Gender

Readers Background Characteristics and Their Feedback on Documents: The Influence of Gender and Educational Level on Evaluation Results    

What is the influence of demographic variables such as gender and educational level on the reader feedback collected under the plus-minus method? To answer this question, an analysis was made of the problems detected in four public information brochures. The average amount of feedback per participant did not vary among the four brochures, but the severity of the problems did. Male participants mentioned more problems than female participants, but the problems detected by female participants were on average more severe. Highly educated participants detected more problems than participants with a lower level of education. No differences in problem types mentioned were found between male and female participants, and only one difference was found between the two educational levels: Highly educated participants focused more strongly on the structuring of information. In general, brochure characteristics had more effect on the types of feedback collected than the two demographic participant characteristics.

de Jong, Menno D.T. and Peter Jan Schellens. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Editing>Assessment>Gender

Selected Bibliography for Technical Communication Professionals: Gender, Communication Strategies, and Audience Analysis  

Effective technical communication relies on an analysis of the intended audience. If such an analysis includes the demographics of an audience, it is often primarily concerned with the level of the readers’ knowledge or how much the readers need to know in order to complete a task. Rarely is the gender of the audience taken into consideration, ignoring several decades of research on the different communication styles used and preferred by women and men. When gender is considered, writers often rely on prescriptive guidelines to avoid sexist language or, more positively, to use inclusive language to eliminate bias from their writing.

Lippincott, Gail. STC Orange County (1998). Resources>Bibliographies>TC>Gender

Sensemaking and Identity: The Interconnection of Storytelling and Networking in a Women's Group of a Large Corporation    

Based on the action research model of inquiry, this article is an interpretive ethnographic case study, exploring the power of narratives as a sensemaking device for members of a women's resource network in a large corporation during a time of significant organizational change, and the influence of storytelling on the networking practices of its members. Data are based on participant observation, formal and informal interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, including presentations, meeting notes, and e-mail correspondence. Drawing on the concepts of sensemaking, identity construction, and habitus, analysis of the members' stories suggests three key conclusions: reliance on collectively constructing stories; use of stories to deal with ambiguity and anxiety; and use of stories to construct and regulate identity. When viewed through a narrative lens, these results illuminate the interconnection of storytelling and networking strategies in a women's resource network that provides a hybrid of both expressive and instrumental benefits.

Bird, Shelley. JBC (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Gender

Sex Differences in Technical Communication: A Perspective from Social Role Theory    

This article interprets technical communication research about sex differences according to social role theory, which argues that sex differences are enculturated through experiences associated with social positions in the family and the workplace. It reevaluates technical communication research about sex differences in communicative and collaborative styles in the classroom and the workplace and about the effects of the double bind that women experience in the workplace. The article concludes with a recommendation that theoretical frameworks explaining sex differences remain flexible and able to account for social change.

Thompson, Isabelle. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Gender