Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2019

The “Reasonably Bright Girls”: Accessing Agency in the Technical Communication Workplace through Interactional Power

Emily January Petersen Weber State University

Abstract

Women continue to face difficulties in the technical and professional communication (TPC) workplace for a myriad of reasons. However, they are not powerless, and interviews with 39 female practitioners of TPC reveal that they use interactional power to maneuver within and around the system of the traditional workplace to solve problems of devaluation, exclusion, harassment, and siloing. A key aspect of being able to navigate power through interaction is becoming aware of the context in which power struggles take place and then using that knowledge to design new participation. Women who claim agency in the workplace understand that power is not possessed, but that they can access resources to participate in power shifts and dynamics.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2019-01-02
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2018.1540724
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication professional writing
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Citation Context

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  1. Balghare et al. (2026)
    Investigating User Empowerment Through the Fertility App Glow
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Malone (2024)
    “Technical Editing and Women Scientists Were Made for Each Other”: Ethaline H. …
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  3. Rea (2022)
    Coding Equity: Social Justice and Computer Programming Literacy Education
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Matheson et al. (2020)
    Tactics for Professional Legitimacy: An Apparent Feminist Analysis of Indian Wo…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

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CrossRef global citation count: 8 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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