Space (physical environments) can be gendered. This was especially evident in the late 19th century concept of "separate spheres" for men and women, but is still true today.

Technological skill is socially constructed. What counts as skill depends on who is doing the activity as well as what they are doing. Similarly, gender roles shape our ideas about which activities count as "work" and which are "leisure."

Gender intersects with class in shaping how society, and women themselves, see women's relationship with technology. (This is also true of race, ethnicity, religion, and other social distinctions.)

New technology can disrupt old patterns of activity and thereby allow people to reject or reshape existing gender roles. Usually there is a reciprocal influence: social roles adjust in response to the technology, while the technology is modified to fit society's expectations.

Technologies, such as the automobile, are both tools and symbols. Driving is a symbol of women's power, freedom, and independence. Society's reaction to women driving is often based on this symbolic meaning as much as on any practical concerns.