How did Margaret E. Knight's career trajectory often differ from many male inventors regarding specialization?

She had to re-establish credibility in new technical fields across diverse areas.

Unlike many of her male counterparts who often developed specialized, concentrated identities within specific scientific or industrial societies, Knight possessed a notably broad mechanical aptitude. Her productivity spanned machinery for items like boots and shoes, advancements in refrigeration technology, and metalworking, in addition to her well-known bag machinery. Because she entered multiple, disparate technical fields, the initial hurdle of gaining acceptance and commanding resources meant that she likely had to constantly rebuild her professional credibility within each new domain she chose to innovate in, which was an exhausting requirement not typically placed on specialists.