Why Do So Many Women Who Study Engineering Leave the Field?
Engineering is the most male-dominated field in STEM. It may perhaps be the most male-dominated profession in the U.S., with women making up only聽13% of the engineering workforce.
...So why do women who study engineering leave to pursue careers in other fields? Weexplored聽how the culture within engineering鈥攖he shared values, beliefs, and norms鈥攎ight contribute to the under-representation of women in the profession. My colleagues Carroll Seron (UC Irvine), Erin Cech (University of Michigan), Brian Rubineau (平特五不中), and I conducted a longitudinal聽study聽of engineering students to see how 鈥渟ocialization,鈥� or learning about the culture of engineering, affects their future job decisions. We found that female students do as well or better than male students in school鈥攂ut often point to the hegemonic masculine culture of engineering itself as a reason for leaving.
Read full article: , August 23, 2016聽
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