Gender, Ethics, And Information Technology

Hacking, software crime, online harassment and cyberstalking, Internet pornography, computer mediated communications, privacy and online community and democracy are information technology topics with an implicit gender dimension which has rarely been explored. Gender, Ethics and Information Technology uses feminist ethics to offer an original analysis of these key issues. It is an interdisciplinary work involving critical and gender studies of science and technology, communications studies, social studies of technology, information systems, and computer ethics.

Adam (information systems, U. of Salford, UK) combines feminist ethics, politics, and legal theory to explore the gendered nature of computer ethics in problems such as data protection, cyberstalking, and privacy. The prevailing "hacker ethic," she finds, is largely a masculine, libertarian approach that elevates freedom of speech over the rights of vulnerable members of society. Her vision of a feminist cyberethics calls for a more caring, relational approach, in which men's and women's experiences are equally valued, than the individualistic, rationalistic, and often emotionless forms of ethical decision making that are now widespread in technology. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Alison Adam is Professor and Head of School at the Information Systems Institute at the University of Salford, Manchester.