The lecturer, Dr. Maddie Winter, a researcher at Tallinn University of Technology and the Institute for the Future of Work, specializes in gender, technology, and labor. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto in Sexual Diversity Studies, with minors in Indigenous Studies and English Literature. She later earned a master’s degree in Women & Gender Studies from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD in Business Management from the University of Edinburgh. Her research explores the future of work, digital transformations, and inclusive labor practices, with a strong focus on interdisciplinary methodologies. She delivered insightful lectures covering:
- The Effective Economy – Examining how technology, including surveillance, intersects with race and gender to reshape labor conditions, particularly in the care sector. Discussions explored how management approaches gender as an identity marker and work as an organizational process, touching on recruitment, the pay gap, and male-dominated industries. The historical figure of the witch was used to illustrate gendered labor dynamics.
- The Agile Economy – Analyzing the concept of the “ideal worker” and its gendered implications in contemporary labor structures. Technology was discussed as both a sector and a tool, with management concerns focusing on inclusion, exclusion, and solutions to gender disparities. The Carousel of Progress framework was introduced to highlight the co-productive relationship between gender and technological development.
- The Prosumer Economy – Discussing gendered aesthetics, conspicuous consumption, and the pursuit of a “good life.”
Key Takeaways
- Gender & Work: Management approaches gender as an identity marker and work as an organizational process. Topics such as recruitment, the pay gap, and male-dominated industries were explored, with historical context provided by the figure of the witch to illustrate gendered labor dynamics.
- Gender & Technology: Technology was discussed as both a sector and a tool, with management concerns focusing on inclusion, exclusion, and solutions to gender disparities. The Carousel of Progress framework was introduced to highlight the co-productive relationship between gender and technological development.
This event was a valuable opportunity for our students to critically engage with the ways labor and technology shape gender identities and social inequalities. The discussions provided deeper insights into the challenges and possibilities for achieving more inclusive and equitable labor structures in the digital era.
We sincerely thank all participants for their engagement, insightful discussions, and contributions. The event highlighted the importance of examining gendered labor and technological change, and we look forward to continuing these conversations through future lectures, seminars, and collaborative projects within the MA Gender Studies Program.
Organized by: Academic Department of Social Sciences & Erasmus+.