A Contextualized Intersectional Approach to Inequality Research in Science and Technology Work

Abstract

As intersectionality becomes an increasingly common framework in workplace and organizational research, questions remain about its uptake and blind spots. In science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), these questions are pressing, as persistent inequalities remain despite rising diversity initiatives. STEM fields hold significant cultural and economic power, while also exemplifying how dominant knowledge paradigms actively produce inequality. This article examines how context is theorized in studies of intersectional STEM workplace inequalities, based on a critical review of 57 peer-reviewed articles. We find that most studies adopt additive ‘gender and’ approaches, focusing on differences among women and treating context as a backdrop. A smaller subset conceptualizes context as constitutive of inequality, shaping which identities and power relations become visible. From these, we identify four interrelated forms of context—spatial, temporal, institutional, and epistemological—that structure the production of inequality. We advance the idea of contextualized intersectionality and offer a conceptual map to analyze how power operates through specific configurations of context. In particular, we theorize epistemological context as a structuring force that shapes who is recognized as a scientist, what constitutes power, and how dominant knowledge paradigms reproduce inequality. Our framework invites more reflexive, critical engagement with context in future empirical research.