Doing and undoing gender in innovation: Femininities and masculinities in innovation processes

Abstract

Despite the rising interest in the intertwining of individuals, organizations and institutions in innovation research, scant attention has been paid to the ways that their relations produce and reproduce specific gender dynamics throughout the innovation process. Innovation research has been characterized by a gender blindness that conceals the gendered nature of innovation processes. This article draws on the material collected through an ethnographic investigation conducted in two research organizations to illustrate how innovation processes are gendered when specific forms of masculinities and femininities are constructed, enacted and resisted by men and women. This article contributes towards developing a gendered understanding of innovation by introducing the term ‘positions of displacement’ to signal the fluidity and messiness of doings and undoings of femininities and masculinities through innovation practices.