Gendered Innovations

Perspectives on biological sex and social gender are often overlooked in scientific and knowledge innovation processes such as scientific studies, pharmaceutical research, engineering design, environmental planning, and technological inventions. But this means we miss out on many possibilities for innovation. The inability to detect gender biases and gender inequality in technology and engineering also means that the innovation and research processes lacks diversity of perspective. In 2015, the United Nations declared February 11 the International Day of Women and Girls in Science as a way of encouraging more women to participate in science and promoting equal development for women in science.

The Design Our World: Gendered Innovations Exhibition, held by the National Taiwan Science Education Center, tells the stories of female scientists, engineers, and inventors from the Middle Ages to our times and explores the relationship between women and science throughout history. The exhibition aims to reflect on gender inequality and ignored perspectives in technology and engineering and help put an end to the bias against women in science.