Engineering Women’s Attitudes and Goals in Choosing Disciplines with Above and Below Average Female Representation

Bibliographic Data

ID13026445
AuthorsDina Verdín (0000-0002-6048-1104, Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author), Andrew Godwin (0000-0002-0741-3356, Purdue University West Lafayette), Adam Kirn (0000-0001-6344-5072, University of Nevada, Reno), Lisa Benson (0000-0001-8052-9817, Clemson University), Gilles Potvin (0000-0002-8164-2309, Florida International University)
Year2018
Volume7
Issue3
Pages44-44
Publication date2018-03-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/socsci7030044
OpenAlexW2791087642
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited74

Women’s participation in engineering remains well below that of men at all degree levels. However, despite the low enrollment of women in engineering as a whole, some engineering disciplines report above average female enrollment. We used multiple linear regression to examine the attitudes, beliefs, career outcome expectations, and career choice of first-year female engineering students enrolled in below average, average, and above average female representation disciplines in engineering. Our work begins to understand how the socially constructed masculine cultural norms of engineering may attract women differentially into specific engineering disciplines. This study used future time perspective, psychological personality traits, grit, various measures of STEM identities, and items related to career outcome expectations as theoretical frameworks. The results of this study indicate that women who are interested in engineering disciplines with different representations of women (i.e., more or less male-dominated) have significantly different attitudes and beliefs, career goals, and career plans. This study provides information about the perceptions that women may have and attitudes that they bring with them into particular engineering pathways

Engineering education · Grit · Perception · Personality · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Representation (politics · Career Development and Diversity · Computer Science · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Engineering · Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation · Psychology · Social Psychology