In communication science, the relationship between technology and gender is increasingly being examined. Recently, Kinnebrock and Nitsch (2020) pointed out gendering in technology reporting, which refers to gender-stereotypical attributions at the actor level. According to an analysis by Peil et al. (2020), there is still very little research available on the possibilities of a gender-equitable representation of technologies and developments as well as elements of participation or their use in Web 2.0. The authors also conclude that “studies that deal with media representations of technology and gender represent a desideratum in gender studies in communication science at the beginning of the 2020s - despite the central importance of analyses of gender (role) images in the media”.

In science & technology studies (STS), approaches to the co-construction of technology and gender (Sagebiel 2014) or the identification of “possibilities for feminist interventions in the development and design of technical artefacts” (Paulitz & Prietl 2021, p. 279) are currently being discussed. From the perspective of a feminist philosophy of technology, technology is understood as a cultural project and product that is produced in socio-cultural processes by people in their respective socio-cultural positionings with diverse political and economic interests (Ernst 2013, p. 113). Nevertheless, the discussion about gender-discriminatory technological developments (Leicht-Scholten & Bouffier 2020) and the still insufficient reference to the category of gender in technological development (Joost, Bessing & Buchmüller 2010, p. 15) or the significance of social gender norms in conjunction with prevailing images of technology for women's career choices (Schmeck 2019, Wächter 2015) are criticised.

The focus on technology, development paths and implications of R&I policy and their representation in the media in particular offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary work and a further opening of communication sciences to gender aspects. This applies to role models and role expectations as well as reporting and reception patterns. The interdisciplinary Gender, Innovation and Technology Journalism GITJOU research project examines the role of media, journalism, and journalists as intermediaries in the R&I discourse with regard to gender sensitivity and its implicit and explicit effect on technology reception, technology design, and social technology discourse. As intermediaries, the media and journalism are significantly involved in the perception of technologies (Kohring 2001), the discursive

development of technology fields (Schaper-Rinkel 2010), or the social construction of technology markets (Banholzer2018), and as policy brokers (Donges & Gerner 2019) in the context of technology mediation or the negotiation of social technology conflicts (Feindt & Saretzki 2010).

Publications on this research area and scientific working papers can be found under the Publications tab. Publications on the research topic, IKOM Working Papers, and reports from student projects and final theses on the subject of the research topic can be found under Publications.

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