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Gender Equity Instrumentalism and (Re)Building the Nation through Innovation: Critical Reflections on Women and STEM Policy in Australia

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posted on 2024-11-23, 06:33 authored by Denise Cuthbert, Leul Tadesse SidelilLeul Tadesse Sidelil
In this chapter a critical lens is applied to recent research and innovation policy in Australia on the issue of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). It is argued that the innovation agenda driven by successive Australian Federal governments over the last decade (2007-2017) has brought a renewed focus on women in STEM. This focus, while welcome, has been marked by a reframing of the issue away from a social justice and equity paradigm to a more instrumentalist innovation and knowledge economy labour force framework. Some implications of what we call the gender equity instrumentalism at work in policy discourse in Australia and elsewhere are then explored. Cautionary notes are drawn from feminist scholarship in the field of economic development and gender studies.

History

Start page

57

End page

71

Total pages

15

Outlet

Gender and the Changing Face of Higher Education in Asia Pacific

Editors

Deanne E. Neubauer and Surinderpal Kaur

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Place published

Switzerland

Language

English

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2019

Former Identifier

2006089928

Esploro creation date

2020-06-22

Fedora creation date

2019-03-26

Open access

  • Yes

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