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The experience of women in engineering varies with those of men. This could be attributed to their physiology, biology, among other aspects.
Engineering industry has experienced a dramatic growth while its future is still bright since women graduates in the field, continues to increase. The profession is attractive since it pays well as compared to others that women engage in. Besides, the nature of work in the field has modified to attract more women in the recent past in areas such as physical, social as well as environmental sciences since it has long been dominated by men.
However, it is not an easy task to work in such a profession since women are constantly faced with issues of skepticism, scrutiny as well as sexism. This paper shall investigate women in engineering in the U.S. It will analyze their progress and the effects of legal system, societal norms, as well as professional practice.
Besides, the paper shall discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities they encounter in the course of their career and elaborate on different recommendations, aimed to improve their prospects in the working environment to pave way for better opportunities in the future.
Women Engineering in the U.S
The males are still dominating engineering professions in the U.S as well as other parts of the world. However, the academic institutions as well as corporations have invested efforts in recruiting women in the profession.
For instance, in the U.S this has helped the nation to remain globally competitive by not just by having many engineering students but also by enhancing diversity in their organizations (Stewart et al. 3). For many years, women have been underrepresented in the profession. Their recruitment is therefore, necessary to manage future shortages of engineers in the country.
Engineering Academics
Women in engineering profession in in the U.S face various Impediments that includes inadequate feminine facilities essential in technical subjects as physics.
Social pressure and lack of career guidance in education institutions are also other limitations. Some females admit that they are not exposed to the profession until they are unable to choose it as part of their career hence guidance on the same is essential (Burke & Mattis 6).
Besides, women should change their attitudes towards engineering profession. In the U.S, women disregard to pursue engineering majors with only 2.6% of the females pursuing it (Leventman 3). From statistical trends, women have however become interested in the recent past.
Statistical Trends (Leventman 4)
Additionally, the engineering degrees awarded to females in the year 2005 and 2006 comprised of 19.4%, 22.6% and 23.3% for Bachelors, Masters and Doctorates respectively. In 2009, the bachelor’s, Masters and Doctorates degrees in engineering were 17.8%, 23% and 21% respectively (Leventman 6).
Engineering Workforce
In the workforce, women in U.S have declined from 12.7% in 2005 to 12.1% in 2007(Leventman 7). This is summarized in the table below;
Retention Challenges
In the U.S, women have twice the likelihood of abandoning the profession after some years as compared to their male subjects i.e. 25% higher in females in comparison to 12% in males (Leventman 8).
Even though, they claim that they are generally satisfied with the profession, they opt to abandon it based on a number of reasons that include; problems to strike a balance between the profession and family responsibilities, inadequate female mentors, limitations in the job requirements, perception of disparity in management’s assessment of their performance and exclusion from the “male dominated upwardly mobility colleague loop” (Leventman 8).
As a result the profession experiences retention issues when it comes to women employees even when they are critically required.
The Society of Women Engineers initiated a research study in 2007 consisting of 4500 males and 1800 females awarded with bachelors and masters degrees. From the study, it was concluded that both genders have same education level as well as job satisfaction.
Besides, both genders refer to better job opportunities to improve and enhancement of their salary as chief reasons to abandon the profession. However, women have a higher likelihood to refer to family-favoring working environment i.e. 12% as well as more interesting jobs i.e. 48% while men highlight on salary i.e. 17% as well as advancement i.e. 23%.
Both genders alumni maintain that work/family is the greatest hindrance but women have two times higher likelihood i.e. 28% as compared to men i.e. 14%, to refer to this aspect. Women over 45 years of age have a 0.5 higher likelihood i.e. 29%, to become holders of senior engineering management & directors as compared to men colleagues i.e. 55% (Leventman 15).
Professional Practice
Females abandon the private sector science, engineering and technology (SET) professions in massive numbers where 41% of the lower ranking SET are females and out of that, 52% abandons the positions particularly in their mid-late 30s. Additionally, machismo as well as sexual harassment prevails in the industry where 63% ascertains to encounter sexual harassment (Leventman 13).
Others maintain that they feel isolated in the workplace, an experience referred to as the snowball effect present in SET working culture.
Besides, they claim to experience varied work strategies where males receive rewards as a result of their masculine efforts such as firefighting while women are neglected. SET professions comprises of extensive long weeks as well as travelling, which impedes women since they are observed as homemakers where they find it hard to balance their career and family responsibilities.
Moreover, women are taken as helpers in the profession hence they are not awarded with higher ranking positions. In IT sector, women neglect their jobs but this has declined from 36% to 25% in 1991 and 2008 respectively.
This could be attributed to differences in salaries where women were paid an average salary of 70,370 USD in the year 2008 as compared to men that were paid an average salary of 80,357 USD. Following fifteen years in the IT profession, women would earn 11% less than men with similar experience (Leventman 12).
Of importance therefore, IT organizations offers a good working environment for both genders where technical as well as communication skills are paramount. However, for gender parity to be achieved in such organizations there is a need for equal males and females to be awarded upper ranks in the organization structure. Moreover, equal numbers of males and females snood attain the topmost financial rewards.
Societal Norms and Legal system
The society has assumed that the engineering profession should be male dominated with regard to ability, role, aspiration as well as conduct. Besides, the corporate and educational organization has played a role to underrepresent women. The profession of science, technology and mathematics has also participated in this.
These are some of the factors that are part and parcel of socio-political norms in a given community. It has been noted that men portrays superior spatial skills unlike women who depict superior verbal skills. However, advanced research ascertains that sex of an individual adds up to over 4% to the over-all variance in the sample (Badekale 14). As a result, there is a higher variation in spatial potentials within- sex as compared to between-sexes irrespective of such research studies.
All the same, irrespective of the research findings, it is still commonly perceived that there exists some biological differences between the genders that are inherent, which enhance males to be successful in engineering as compared to women that eventually dictates the subject specialisms.
Women are not only being impeded by lack of advocacy for equal opportunities in the engineering profession, but also are brought down by the denial of their rights in the workforce. From this research study, it is clear that women participation in engineering is still much lower than that of men in the US.
Universities as well as corporations have however, drafted means to attract females in the profession although they depict lack of interest in the field, even when their potential is similar to that of men.
Drastic recommendations are therefore, needed to manage women underrepresentation even if they are impeded by family responsibilities. Women depict lack of preferences in the field due to their upbringing, which is influenced by societal, legal, professional and cultural norms in the community.
Recommendations
Cultural change is so needed in corporate organizations as well as higher learning institutions. This could be attained through advocating for diversity, embracing attitudes and mentoring women to participate fully in engineering.
To encourage females in the engineering profession, the institutions of higher learning should invest special efforts to recruit them in the industry by setting a special day to celebrate female engineers in an invent that is meant to expose female students in the field and commemorate the industry (Badekale 19).
Female engineers have to become aware of the fact that they have to manage their biological differences to cope competitively with men.
For instance, they have to have timely pregnancies to balance their career and familial roles. Besides, they should work as teamwork to initiate their own unions and businesses to favor their needs. Women in the careers have to strike a balance between the family and work for them to be termed as efficient in the field (Burke & Mattis xi).
In the U.S, effective recruiting strategies in learning institutions are attributed to women engagement in engineering. These involves the choice of leaders who are committed responsibly in recruiting females, application of brochures, written publications to draw female students among other strategies (Badekale 13).
These female engineers act as a role model to be looked upon by aspiring female students in junior levels to specialize in engineering. The general guidance and counseling should emphasize on relevance of engineering to female students where high ranking women engineers are invited as role models, which is a concept that is widely applied in the U.S leaning institutions.
Poor attitudes adopted by females towards engineering should be done away with (Badekale 14). A productive environment should be ensured for women to study and undertake engineering as a career by eliminating any hindrance to their participation. For instance, there should be enactment of a law to curb sexual harassment and female discrimination.
Therefore, change of attitudes for female students as well as guidance and counseling that emphasizes on feminine needs in engineering should be initiated. Additionally, women engineers should lecture on related subjects for mentorship.
Universities that concentrate primarily on women’s needs are necessary in a nation while the society should be made aware of the need for equality in the workforce through campaigns to eliminate the traditional mind of male domination in the field. Family support programs are essential for the state to enlighten family members on involving their daughters in engineering as well as eliminating sexism, for positive socialization.
Authors of books should also eliminate masculinization of the profession while the legal system should draft policies to eliminate discrimination in hiring of female staff and encourage special provisions for them to cope in the field (Stewart et al. 79).
Conclusion
This research was aimed to generate the issues facing women in the engineering workforce. In conclusion, women should be more attracted in the profession and ensure their retention by motivation and other positive reinforcement strategies. The society should also participate by encouraging them to overcome any obstacle in the course of their career.
Since they are faced with issues of declined tenure and promotion rates, extensive periods of promotion, declined rates of retention as well as minimal job satisfaction, these aspects should be dealt with, to ensure their efficiency, faculty productivity and higher retention for the ultimate job satisfaction that women engineers are in search of.
Works Cited
Badekale, Adeke. “Woman and Engineering in Nigeria: Towards Improved Policy Initiatives and Increased Female Participation.” African Technology Policy Studies Network Working Paper Series, No. 37, 2003. Web.
Burke, Ronald, and Mary Mattis. Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Upping the Numbers. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007. Print.
Leventman, Paula. “Women in Engineering in the United States: Overview 1990-2010.” Northeastern University, 2010. Web.
Stewart, Abigail, Janet Malley, and Danielle LaVaque-Manty. Transforming Science and Engineering: Advancing Academic Women. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2007. Print.
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