Women, Men, and Machines

Abstract

Though knowledge about sex segregation in the world of work is widespread, social scientists have not developed a systematic view of how machine technology abets sex stratification. Data from the first national study of technological change shows that proportionately more women than men operate machines, are more exposed to machines that have alienating effects, and suffer more from the negative effects of technological change. Despite this, sex differences are small with respect to attitudes toward technology, technological change, and job satisfaction, suggesting that the alleged link between worker-machine relations and alienation needs reexamination.