Women into Science and Engineering (WISE): Activism and Institutional Change

Carter, Ruth and Kirkup, Gill (1990). Women into Science and Engineering (WISE): Activism and Institutional Change. In: Conference: European and Third World GASAT Conference, Jonkoping, Sweden.

Abstract

For the last four years the authors have worked as joint Chairs of the Open University (OU) WISE Group. It operates with the support of a dozen active women and men, and a large mailing list of passive members. Over the years we can claim a number of achievements for the Group, but there are areas where we have made little or no impact on the University. In this paper we begin to analyse why we have been successful in some areas of work and not in others. We feel that our own experience of sustaining a feminist pressure group in a liberal, but bureaucratic, academic institution will be familiar to many people working for women's education in science and technology. We need to share our understanding of institutional power to be better able to develop feminist strategies for achieving institutional change.

Plain Language Summary

A study which documents the achievements of the Women into Science and Engineering Group during the period of 1986 to 1990 inclusive. The document describes successful initiatives and also barriers to further successes and maps out a way forward for the next ten years.

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