New Books in Economic and Business History Lisa Nakamura, "The Inattention Economy: How Women of Color Built the Internet" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Mar 18, 2026
Lisa Nakamura, professor and scholar of race, gender, and digital media, recovers the overlooked labor of women of color who made the internet work. She traces three eras from Navajo semiconductor workers to MySpace influencers to Black VR creators. Topics include digital extraction, the invisibility of care work, and calls for recognition and material repair.
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Inattention Economy Conceals Women Of Color's Labor
- The inattention economy profits by making specific groups invisible while claiming multiculturalism as branding.
- Lisa Nakamura ties attention-based value to concealment of women of color's labor across chips, social media, and VR.
Navajo Women Hired As Semiconductor Artisans
- Fairchild built an advanced semiconductor plant on Navajo land and openly marketed Navajo women as ideal workers.
- Company brochures paired chips with Navajo rugs and touted nimble-fingered Indigenous women as artisanal circuit builders.
Skill Highlighted Then Erased By Racial Narrative
- Navajo women's skill was highlighted for low defect rates yet racial narratives allowed their modern labor to be quickly erased.
- After protests Fairchild left and the identity of 'ideal' circuit workers shifted to Asian women and overseas plants.
