Technology as a Woman’s Call: The Efforts of the Fredrika Bremer Association to Promote Women’s Education in Technology 1978–1999

Abstract

In 1978, Sweden’s oldest women’s organisation, the Fredrika Bremer Association (FBF), organised an event on women and technology. This was the first event of its kind in Sweden and it was met with great interest. Consequently, it became a recurring annual event until the late 1990s. At a time when the computerisation of society precipitated a response from the Swedish state, labour market parties and civil society, the FBF became an authority in the area of technology and gender equality. Framed within the field of history of knowledge, this article claims that the FBF sought to redefine the concept of technology to include what they considered to be female features. They circulated this new definition in the school system and among the broader society. The FBF has been overlooked as a relevant actor in the circulation of technology knowledge, even though it played a significant role in the discussion of women and computer technology in Sweden from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.

Keywords

• gender
• women in STEM
• women in technology education
• gender and technology
• history of knowledge
• Fredrika Bremer Association