Power Relations Paper

Power Relations in IT Education and Work:
The Intersectionality of Gender, Race and Class

Lynette Kvasny
College of Information Sciences and Technology
The Pennyslvania State University [e-mail] Eileen M. Trauth
College of Information Sciences and Technology
The Pennyslvania State University [e-mail] Allison J. Morgan
Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences
School of Business
Howard University [e-mail] Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
Special Issue on ICTs and Social Inclusion

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Abstract
Social exclusion as a result of gender, race and class inequality is perhaps one of the most pressing challenges associated with the development of a
Miss Scott described a direct linkage from
IT skills to employment.
I am attending the computer applications class at the Cyber Center. I will learn a lot of computer applications when I finish this class. I will be able to get a better job and better opportunities. I will conquer the digital divide. We all need to learn these computer applications. We will need this information to be successful in the business world. Afro-Americans have basically been left behind in this arena. We must make progress. The Cyber Center will help us to accomplish this mission. [Miss Scott]
Miss Johnson, in an appeal to the City Council, described the importance of the neighborhood technology center for improving her self worth.
I want to make sure that you understand how important this program is. It is giving me a new lease on life. It increases my thoughts, and my ability to learn.
The environment is very encouraging. I now have faith and hope. Now I understand that there are things out there for us, as we get old. I would like to start a web business. The Cyber Centers fill a great need. We seniors are
A lot of firsts. [Megan]
Older women in Georgia described how technology centers gave them a place to be, and something constructive to do with their bodies and minds. A community space evolved as women escaped the isolation of their apartments and learned together at the technology centers.
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Comment made to the interviewer who is White.

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I come to the center to socialize. I live alone, so my time at the center lets me mingle with others. I need to constantly stimulate my mind or I might go crazy. I don 't want to be old and alone with no one to talk to like some of my friends.
There are ladies in my building who don’t get out much and they just deteriorate in body and mind. Plus, the program is free. This is what really makes me come because I am on a fixed income. Black people don 't take advantage of programs like Whites do. That’s part of the reason why we are being left behind [Miss
Green]
3. Theorizing Intersectionality
“Since critics first alleged that feminism claimed to speak universally for all women, feminist researchers have been acutely aware of the limitations of gender as a single analytical category… [I]ntersectionality is the