Paper short abstract:

Understanding gendered organizational processes in scientific work blends older Merton-Zuckerman strands with recent feminist STS on situated knowledges. Organizations are where science policy happens – in governmental agencies but also in labs where policy implementation (and resistance) occurs.

Paper long abstract:

This discussion of feminist gendered organization theory draws on data from academic, industry, and US federal government contexts of science and technology. Science policymaking is an area that needs further study because of its key role in directing science and technology outcomes (e.g., Jasanoff 2007); the representation and leadership of women in science agencies needs theorizing. And the connection of science policy constraints on funding to gendered organization of labs is another area in need of theoretical development. There seems to be increasing individualism in scientists' narrative about their responsibilities regarding funding (Smith-Doerr, Croissant, Vardi forthcoming). Gender cannot be easily discussed in policies or discourses about funding; what are the implications of the invisibility of gender in policy for practices of knowledge production and resource allocation?

This paper seeks to understand the gendered links between policy for science and science as practiced. Recent discourse in science policymaking focuses on "collaboration," particularly interdisciplinary and international collaboration. Is the focus on collaboration related to women's involvement in science policy? Does "collaboration" as a goal result in larger, winner-take-all projects that support formation of research centers (where men usually lead, Corley and Gaughan 2005)? It would be fruitful to join analyses of the processes of policy decisions for funding at the federal level and the processes for communication and allocation of resources in lab settings. Examining the upstream (funding) sources for science and the downstream implementation of collaboration together would provide a wider scope for understanding gendered organization in science and technology contexts.