If You Build It, They Will Come? Why Women Tend to Avoid Certain Engineering Disciplines and Work

Environments

Source: www.ieee.org

Leslie Pendleton, Ph.D.

IEEE VMS MeetingHoliday InnBlacksburg, VA

October 20, 2011

Talking Points• History• Legislation and policy• Relevant research– Gender differences– Persistence– Self-efficacy

• Case studies• Professional and ethical issues• Recommendations for inclusion

Q1

In your opinion, what are the obstacles to women’s full participation in CPE and EE programs and professions?

Some brief history

Historical origins of engineering education in the U.S.

General Washington’s 1778 order calling for the establishment of a school of engineeringPassage of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts (1862, 1890) Three-phases:1. 1870-1900: Practice - “tools of the trade,” shop work, field experience2. 1900-1940: Industrial Revolution, emerging high technologies, and pedagogical changes3. 1940-1970 wartime preparedness, engineering science and rigorous mathematical analysis, status as a “profession” Senator Justin Morrill (R), Vermont

Women entered engineering in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

“Women Attempt to Penetrate Masculine Territory”“Three Coeds Invade Engineering Courses and Compete With Men at Cornell University”“Coed Engineers: Man’s Domains are Again Invaded”

These women, sisters of “Rosie the Riveter,” were nicknamed “Slide Rule Sadie.”

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) was officially incorporated in 1952. Source: Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

This was the sentiment of the time.• “A girl has to want … pretty badly to go through with the course

in spite of the unconscious brutality of the young men who will be her classmates. … She must be ready to be misunderstood, as … many … will conclude that she took engineering … to catch a husband. She must be ready to do alone the work the men do in groups … lab reports, etc., because in general men who are willing to face the scorn of their peers and … work with her are far more interested in flirting than in checking computations. She must be prepared for a pretty lonely academic career.”

World War II provided a huge impetus for women’s desire for work outside the home.

World War II (1939-1945)• 7 million women went to work

– ¾ over 35, 60% married, ½ with children

• Access to the service and industrial sectors– Women performed well in

“men’s” jobs: machinists, shipbuilders, etc.

• 2 million lost their jobs by the end of 1946– More than 80% wanted to keep

those jobs

Post World War II• A taste for the independence

of employment• Increased educational

opportunities• Economic and labor force

growth• Rising divorce rate• Control over reproduction• Antidiscrimination legislation

The public debated women’s suitability and place in engineering.

• “It was determined that it was not a sound investment to teach coeds engineering since ‘the most evident ambition of many of these women is to get married and raise a family’.” (Bix, 2005)

• Biological nature (essentialism)– Based on eternal and

universal characteristics of men and women

– The structure of gender relations is unchanging and inevitable

– Focuses on biological differences between men and women

– Most influential and historically persistent theory

Policy and Legislation

Subject 1997 2002Access to Higher Education B- B

Athletics C C+

Career Education C D

Employment C- C-

Learning Environment C- C-

Math and Science C+ B-

Sexual Harassment D+ C

Standardized Testing C C

Technology Not graded

D+

Title IX (1972) : Progress Toward Gender Equity

Source: National Coalition for Women & Girls in Education www.ncwge.org

The Leaky STEM Pipeline

K-12 (Sadker)

Post-secondary (Goodman, Sandler)

Post-graduate (NSF Advance)

Academe (MIT)

What are the factors that cause the leaks at the junctures along the pipeline?

The average percentages of women in engineering at each juncture of the pipeline, 2001-2004

Bachelor's Master's Doctoral Workforce0

5

10

15

20

25

20 20

17.6

11

Virginia Tech is the fourth largest undergraduate engineering in the U.S.

B.S. Engineering B.S. CPE B.S. EE0

5

10

15

20

25

16

3

7

20

12

15

Virginia TechNationwide

Percentage of B.S. degrees earned by gender

CNU (96) GMU (165) ODU (47) UVA (102) VCU (89) VSU (114) VT (233) LU (63)0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

91%

85%

87%

75% 83

%

85% 93

% 97%

9%

15%

13%

25%

17%

15%

7%

3%

Virginia Institutions Enrollment by GenderFall 2010

B.S., Computer Engineering

Male Female

Source: State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

CNU (13) GMU (19) ODU (11) UVA (37) VCU (10) VSU (9) VT (74)0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%92

%

84% 91

%

81% 90

%

78%

96%

8%

16%

9%

19%

10%

22%

4%

Virginia Institutions Degree Completions by Gender2010-2011

B.S., Computer Engineering

Male Female

Source: SCHEV

GMU (262) NSU (83) ODU (102) UVA (113) VCU (167) VMI (48) VT (308) LU (67)0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

87%

83% 88

%

81%

92% 10

0%

89% 96

%

13% 17

%

12% 19

%

8% 11%

4%

Virginia Institutions Enrollment by GenderFall 2010

B.S., Electrical Engineering

Male Female

Source: SCHEV

GMU (54) NSU (3) ODU (32) UVA (26) VCU (26) VMI (8) VT (98) LU (4)0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

83%

33%

88%

88%

85%

100%

86%

75%

17%

67%

12%

12% 15

%

14%

25%

Virginia Institutions Degree Completions by Gender2010-2011

B.S., Electrical Engineering

Male Female

Source: SCHEV

G KEE

Why So Few?• Ethnographic research

– “Doing it the Hard Way” (Sally Hacker, 1990)– The “Chilly Classroom Climate” (Bernice Sandler et al., 1996)– “Unlocking the Clubhouse” (Fisher & Margolis, 2002)

• Some findings– Lack of community for women students

• Isolation, loneliness, peer discrimination– Almost no examples of how engineering helps people and benefits

society– Lack of faculty involvement– Dearth of role models– Lack of opportunity– Negative labels

Overall, the contemporary engineering culture has presented problems.

• The historical roots of “militarized masculinity” still linger.– “Engineering contains the smallest proportion of females of all

major professions and projects a heavy masculine, male-centered image hostile to women” (Hacker, 1981).

– “Look to your left, look to your right, half of you won’t be back next year.”

• Even today, students perceive a “weed out” culture due to its “hardness.”

• The “superiority myth” and elitism make it difficult for underrepresented populations.– “The faculty don’t really care if you graduate or not.”– “We want to recruit the ‘cream of the crop’?”

Why do women enter and leave engineering?

Recruitment• Parental influence• Early interest and abilities in

math and science• Attraction to the work engineers

do• Experiences that pique interest• Role models and

encouragement• Job opportunities• Value of an engineering degree

for other fields

Attrition• Dissatisfaction with the

program (grades, teaching, workload, pace) (1/2)

• Negative climate (competition, lack of support, discouraging faculty and peers (1/3)

• Lack of interest (1/2)• Attraction to another

discipline (1/3)Source: The Women’s Experiences in College Engineering (WECE) Project, 2002.

Contemporary Phenomena(1) Dualisms

“hard” vs. “soft”“earthy” vs. “abstract”

(2) Stereotypes “Geek” & “nerd”(3) Stereotype threat (Claude Steele)The fear that one's behavior will confirm an existing stereotype of a group with which one identifies.(4) Spotlighting(Lisa McLoughlin)Singling out women with the intention to help them, thus making them uncomfortable.

(5) The “Imposter Syndrome”No matter how educated and accomplished some women are, they often feel inadequate.

Contemporary Stories

• Academia– Betsy– Lynn & Casey– Patrick– Deepti

• Industry– Marianne– Deanne– A large company we’ve

all heard of

Gender socialization and social learning theories provide a better explanation.

• Children learn to imitate the models or examples they see in society.

• Children are rewarded for behaving in gender-appropriate ways and punished for acting otherwise.

• Children form understandings of gender differences by age 3.

• Focuses on the effects of individuals’ experiences in their environments.

What factors contribute to persistence in engineering?

• Personal assessments of self-confidence and self-efficacy– For some women, telling them they can’t do it provides motivation to prove

others wrong.– Co-ops and internships lead to increased academic, career, and work self-efficacy.

• SUPPORT!– The engineering department, classroom, and work environments are critical

factors in women’s persistence.

“We cannot say whether more positive perceptions are due to environment, student personality, or both, but it is clear that more positive perceptions were significantly associated with staying in engineering.”

Source: The Women’s Experiences in College Engineering (WECE) Project, 2002.

These resources have been helpful for girls and women.

• National and local initiatives (K-12)– http://www.engineergirl.org/– http://www.stem.vt.edu/– http://www.eng.vt.edu/academics/ceed_precoll.php

• National and local initiatives (Post-secondary)– Women in Engineering (WIE) Programs

• https://engineering.purdue.edu/WIEP/– Women in Engineering Proactive Network (WEPAN)

• http://www.wepan.org/

• Professional societies and affinity groups– Society of Women Engineers

• http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/– IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE)

• http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/women/index.html

• Policy changes and other corporate initiatives– http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/women/

Q2

Why should you, members of the CPE and EE professions, care if there are women students and engineers in your school and work environments?

Wage Gap by Education (2001)

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

HighSchool

Bachelor's Master's

MenWomen

The Gender Wage Gap: Median Weekly Earnings

Common occupations for women

Secre

tarial

Nursing

Teaching

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$725

$1,201

$1,024

$657

$1,039 $931

MenWomen

Common occupations for men

Manag

ers

Software

engineers

Chief exe

cutive

s$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$1,395 $1,590

$2,217

$1,045

$1,445 $1,598

MenWomen

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010

The Gender Wage Gap• Women earn less

than men in (almost) all occupations (high- and low-paying).

• Women earn less than men in the most common occupations for both men and women.

• Male-dominated occupations pay more than female-dominated occupations at similar skills levels.Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, April 2011

Professional and Ethical Issues• “The Business Case for Diversity”

• IEEE Code of Ethics (www.ieee.org)– As per IEEE Bylaw I-104.14, membership in IEEE in any grade shall carry the

obligation to abide by the IEEE Code of Ethics (IEEE Policy 7.8) as stated:– We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies

in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:• 8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability,

age, or national origin.• 9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious

action;• 10. the assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support

them in following this code of ethics.

Q3

Whether you are in academia or industry, what can you personally do to promote women’s full participation and inclusion in CPE and EE careers?

Academia: Some Recommendations for Inclusion

• Use best pedagogical practices– Student-centered and active, cooperative learning techniques– Build student teamwork and communication skills– Rule of four explanations: words, pictures, equations, examples– Use gender inclusive language– Supportive, interactive learning environment

• Create a supportive engineering community• Focus on problems and solutions that help people and benefit

society• Incorporate hands-on, team-based projects courses in the first year.

– Women and men are 27 and 19% more likely to earn their B.S. degrees.• Avoid gendered language and metaphors.

Industry: Some Recommendations for Inclusion

• Partner with and provide outreach to schools and 2-year colleges in your communities.

• Challenge occupational segregation and factors that lead to wage differentials by gender.

• Close the gender pay gap.• Enforce equal pay and equal opportunity regulations.• Provide flexible leave policies and work arrangements.• Eliminate discrimination and harassment (subtle and otherwise).• Avoid gendered language and metaphors.• Require diversity, ethics, and sexual harassment training and make

compliance part of annual performance evaluations.• Eliminate good ole’ boy networks that isolate women.

Thank you for coming to listen to a non-technical topic!