Abstract:  e‐Science, multidisciplinary research that operates with large‐scale data sets across distributed networks and grid systems, has largely been examined in relation to knowledge production within international and interinstitutional collaborations in higher education and research (HER), supported by shared e‐infrastructures and advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs). As such, the rise of e‐Science constitutes a major socio‐technical change agent within HER. This article approaches e‐Science as a digital science platform and investigates how it reshapes knowledge production practices and their intersectional gendered implications. The analysis draws on findings from a year‐long qualitative study on a Swedish academic e‐Science platform, hereafter referred to as eSci. The study identifies multiple and overlapping forms of work extension and intensification within eSci, including multi‐ and co‐locational, (inter)disciplinary, translational, and interactional, as well as extension of work in the form of project‐based recruitment of contingent staff. These transformations generate distinct responses from tenured and contingent staff, producing varied gendered effects and positioning precarity as a crucial intersectional dimension in gender analysis. Ultimately, the findings suggest that these dynamics undermine the inclusive potential of e‐Science, limiting its capacity to attract and sustain the participation of women in a field that remains heavily male‐dominated.

Keywords:  digital science platforms; diversity; e‐infrastructure; precarity; work extension; work intensification

Published:   16 March 2026

Issue:   Vol 14 (2026): Diversity and Change Agents in Higher Education (In Progress)