This study examined curricular reform processes at two Swedish institutes of technology through a gender perspective, relating them to two social theories the reproduction theory of Bourdieu and Passeron and the gender contract theory of Yvonne Hirdman. The aim of the reform process was to make educational programs in computer engineering more attractive to female students. Data were gathered by interviewing academic staff involved in the reform process at Linkoping Institute of Technology and Chalmers University of Technology and through observations of planning meetings. The results point out several obstacles to gender-related reforms, including stereotypical conceptions of women and lack of knowledge on gender issues among the reformers, the particular position and responsibilities given to female reformers, the importance of maintaining the status of a single program, the heritage of engineering education as a whole, and the need for other reforms (e.g., pedagogical reforms) which are perceived of as relatively easy to accomplish, whereas gender reform is both more profound and more difficult. It was also found that even if the reformed programs managed to increase recruitment of female students, their curricula were not perceived by faculty to be especially female-friendly. Seven appendixes provide information on the study methodology. (Contains 165 references.) (MDM)