Harnessing Diversity: Individual Differences in the Use of Farm Management Software

Abstract

This paper reports on an interpretive study which explores the influences of socio-cultural factors in the interplay between farm women and technology for farm management purposes on Australian family cotton farms. The study revealed growing support for the theory of individual differences of gender and IT in situations where women and men farm partners perform certain tasks for which they are neither biologically predetermined nor socially constituted. By harnessing the diverse skills of farm partners, decision making on the family farm is enhanced. This paper contributes to both theory and practice by extending the conceptual foundations for recognising and valuing gendered relationships and diversity in a global context.