XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 13-19, 2014)

July 13 - 19, 2014

561

Gender, Culture and Innovation in Knowledge-Intensive Industries

RC32 Women in Society (host committee)

Language: English

The significance of knowledge-intensive industries (such as medical research, transnational education, biotechnology) to primary production, health and industry, as well as national and global economic outputs, has been well documented (OECD, 2012; Roy & Ong, 2011). Understanding the social, cultural and technical dimensions of this sector also provides valuable knowledge regarding higher-level skills (complex communication, analytical and problem-solving skills) that are vital for productivity growth, GDP and successful participation in the global bio-economy (Dutta 2012,OECD, 2012). The focus of this panel is professional and semi-professional women in knowledge-intensive industries, an untapped group of knowledge workers in the global economy (OECD 2012). The papers on this panel explore the ways in which social relations and power dynamics within this sector shape women`s identities working in this sector and their access to resources and opportunities (e.g., promotion, appropriate mentoring, networking opportunities). Women in knowledge-intensive industries are not just knowledge workers and professionals; they carry their cultural identity (as members of ethnic and religious collectives), their gender roles, their familial roles, community roles with them into their biotechnology workplace. This panel also looks at how the occupational identities of women in these industries are bound up with their interactions with technological/technoscience artefacts and the work culture in emergent industries.