In this article, using the Department of Irrigation in Nepal as a case study, we argue that professional performance in irrigation engineering and water resources development is gendered and normalised as ‘masculine’. In Nepal, the masculinity of professional performance in irrigation engineering is located in intersections of gender, class, caste, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality and disciplinary education, and hinders especially female engineers to perform as a ‘normal’ engineer. Our analysis is based on interviews with male and female engineers in the department, documentation research, and ethnographic observations in the period 2005–2011. Our study suggests that professional performances and engineering identities in the organisation have always been tied to performances of masculinity. This implies that career prospects in the Nepalese irrigation department for female engineers remain grim; because for them to succeed and belong, they have to reconcile the near incommensurable: a performance of a ‘lady engineer’ with that of a ‘normal’ engineer.

在本文中，以尼泊尔灌溉部为例，我们认为在灌溉工程和水资源开发方面的专业绩效是按性别划分的，并被标准化为“男性化”。在尼泊尔，灌溉工程专业表现的男性气质遍布性别，阶级，种姓，种族，性别，国籍和学科教育的交汇处，尤其阻碍了女工程师担任“普通”工程师。我们的分析基于对部门中男性和女性工程师的访谈，文献研究以及2005-2011年期间的人种学观察结果。我们的研究表明，组织中的专业表现和工程身份始终与男性气概的表现联系在一起。这意味着尼泊尔灌溉部门女工程师的职业前景仍然严峻；因为要使他们成功并归属，他们必须调和几乎无法估量的价值：“高级工程师”与“普通”工程师的表现。