Changing the gendered status quo in engineering? The encouraging and discouraging experiences of young women with engineering aspirations

Bibliographic Data

ID21392917
AuthorsUrsula Nguyen (0000-0001-8176-0885, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, STEM Education The University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA, corresponding author), Tatiane Russo-Tait (0000-0002-2606-2061, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, STEM Education The University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA), Catherine Riegle-Crumb (0000-0003-0855-3614, The University of Texas at Austin), Catherine Riegle‐crumb (Department of Curriculum and Instruction, STEM Education The University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA), Katherine Doerr (0000-0001-8600-7542, Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty of Education and Society, Malmo University Malmo Sweden)
Year2022
Volume106
Issue6
Pages1442-1468
Publication date2022-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-8326 • E-ISSN: 1098-237X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/sce.21748
PMID37637495
OpenAlexW4284977280
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited72

Young women remain underrepresented among engineering bachelor's degree holders. While there is a relatively large body of extant research on the many factors that curtail young women's interest in pursuing engineering, less is known about high school girls who are on an engineering pathway. Therefore, this study focuses on a select group of precollege young women who express a strong interest in engineering. Specifically, informed by theories of gender as a social system and previous empirical research, this mixed‐methods study explores the constellation of significant actors within the daily lives of these young women, to understand from whom and how they are supported in pursuing this gender‐atypical field, and simultaneously, from whom and how they are discouraged. To do so, the researchers analyzed survey and interview data from a sample of diverse high school girls who participate in the Society of Women Engineers' (SWE) SWENext programme. Quantitative results indicate that young women report high levels of encouragement from most sources, including parents, teachers, and other young women. However, across various peer contexts, they receive much more support from other young women than from young men. Qualitative results further reveal that parents and teachers stand out in young women's recollections of encouragement, often through advocating their participation in engineering activities or providing mentoring support. In contrast, young men in engineering spaces were recalled as particularly discouraging of their engineering participation, by socially or physically excluding them or refusing to provide recognition. Implications for future research and practice are discussed

Bachelor · Engineering education · Extant taxon · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Status quo · Career Development and Diversity · Diverse Educational Innovations Studies · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Gender Studies · Medicine · Psychology

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