Beginning in 1993 I had an opportunity to serve with a group exploring the gender dimensions of science and technology for sustainable human development. This work was done by eight commissioners and eight advisors under the umbrella of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development. The Gender Working Group took on as its assignment to contribute to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing by articulating the links between gender, science, technology and development. The first thing we had to do was pursue the scholarly roots of this intersection and convince ourselves and each other that this intersection existed, and figure out what it might look like. In many parts of the world, it is the women who have responsibility for food security.
Women carry most of the responsibility of reproduction and family maintenance.
Women are the care givers, the gatherers of fuel and water. In addition, our efforts within the Gender Working Group pointed out that a substantial amount of local traditional knowledge is held by women, especially in the areas of agriculture, environmental resource management, and health. Given the areas of women's responsibilities, it should be easy to conclude there is a major role for science and technology to play, and yet discussions of women in development often move forward with no input on the possible role of science and technology. Those of us from science and engineering are often on the margins of national and international discussions on women in development. Discussions and strategies about development have been advanced without considerations of women, without the involvement of women, without an understanding of their effects on women, without the understanding of the need to consider women's roles and responsibilities in the family and in the life of the community.