ENGENDERING ENGINEERING SUCCESS - PROJECT...

ENGENDERINGENGINEERINGSUCCESS-PROJECTREPORT

TheImpactofHumanResourcePolicies&PracticesontheRetention&AdvancementofFemale

Engineers

Dr.MichelleInness,NicoleWilson,Dr.ValerieDavidson,Dr.ToniSchmader,Dr.WilliamHall,Dr.ElizabethCroft

AbstractEngenderingEngineeringSuccess(EES)isajointresearchprojectbetweenthe

UniversityofAlberta,theUniversityofBritishColumbia,andtheUniversityofGuelph.EESaimedtoidentifywhichhumanresourcespracticesandaninclusiveandsupportive

workplaceculturethatmaximizescareeroutcomesforwomen.

TheImpactofHumanResourcePolicies&PracticesontheRetention&AdvancementofFemaleEngineers

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ProjectOverview

Thisreportexaminespracticesrelatingtowork-lifebalanceandhumanresourcepoliciesinCanadianorganizationsthatemployengineersandhowthesepracticesandpoliciescorrelatewithtenureandadvancementoffemaleengineers.

SampleandMethodsWesurveyedaHumanResourcesprofessionalineachof39companiesthatemployengineers.Theorganizationsrepresentsixengineeringsectors(ConsultingServices,Utilities,Communications,Transportation,Government,PrimaryandResourceIndustries,ConstructionandManufacturingandHighTechnology).

Weaskedthemtoreportonthefollowing(seeAppendixformoredetail):§ Humanresourcespoliciesandbenefits:

§ 11separatetypesof“work-lifebalance”benefitsrelatedtoflexibleworkarrangements,maternity/parentalleaveandon-goingfamilycare

§ 13HumanResourcepoliciesandprogramsrelatedtoemployeedevelopmentandtraining,mentorship,recruitment,promotionandotherareasofsupport

§ Careeroutcomes:§ Averagesalariesofmaleandfemaleengineersatdifferentlevelsintheorganization§ Percentageoffemaleengineersatdifferentlevels§ Tenureofmaleandfemaleengineersintheorganization

§ Theirperceptionofemployee’sattitudestowardwork-lifebalancebenefits,HRpoliciesfocusedonrecruitment,retentionandadvancementoffemaleengineersandpoliciesaimedatcreatinggenderinclusivity

§ Theirperceptionofthecompany’s‘diversityperformanceculture’(respondentsaskedtoindicatetheiragreementwith4statementsaboutthepriorityplacedongenderdiversityintheircompany)


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Findings

Finding1.Companiesofferarangeof“work-lifebalance”benefits–theaveragenumberofbenefitsreportedpercompanywas5andtherangewasbetween1and8.

THEMAJORITYOFCOMPANIESREPORTEDOFFERINGFLEXIBLEWORKARRANGEMENTS.AMINORITYOFCOMPANIESOFFEREDPAID

MATERNITYANDPARENTALLEAVES,THOUGHTHESENUMBERSAREABOVERECENTREPORTSONNATIONALAVERAGE(IN2008,APPROXIMATELY19.4%OFEMPLOYED,EMPLOYMENTINSURANCEELIGIBLENEWMOTHERSRECEIVEDEMPLOYERTOP-UPS).FEW

COMPANIESREPORTEDOFFERINGPAIDFAMILYCAREBENEFITS.

Finding2.Humanresourcespoliciesandpracticesvariedacrossorganizations.Theaveragenumberreportedpercompanywas4.6andtherangewasbetween1and10.

THEMAJORITYOFCOMPANIESREPORTEDOFFERINGTRAINING,CAREERPLANNINGANDMENTORSHIPTOBOTHMENANDWOMEN.AMINORITYOFCOMPANIESHADHRPROGRAMSFOCUSEDONRECRUITMENT,RETENTIONANDADVANCEMENTOFFEMALEENGINEERS.VERYFEWCOMPANIESREPORTEDHAVINGAPOLICYOFPROMOTINGWOMENTOSENIORPOSITIONS,ALLELSEEQUAL.

0

10

20

30

40

#ofco

mpa

nies

Work-lifebalancetypesofbenefits

(87%) (87%)

(64%)(51%) (46%)

(26%) (26%)

(10%) (7.7%) (2.6%)(0%)

FIGURE1SHOWSTHENUMBER(ANDPERCENTAGE)OFCOMPANIESINTHISSAMPLEWHOREPORTEDTHATTHEYDOOFFERTHEBENEFITLISTEDONTHEHORIZONTALAXIS.THEBARSARECOLORCODEDTOINDICATEWHETHERTHEBENEFITISAFLEXIBLEWORKARRANGEMENT(GREEN),APAIDLEAVE(ORANGE)ORAFAMILYCAREBENEFIT(BLUE).


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FIGURE2SHOWSTHENUMBER(ANDPERCENTAGE)OFCOMPANIESINTHISSAMPLEWHOREPORTEDTHATTHEYDOOFFERTHEPOLICY/PRACTICEINDICATEDONTHEHORIZONTALAXIS.THEBARSARECOLORCODEDTOINDICATEWHETHERTHEBENEFITISONEOFTRAINING/MENTORSHIP(ORANGE),RECRUITMENTSTRATEGIES(GREEN)WHICHINCLUDE‘BLINDJOBAPPLICATIONS’,APROMOTIONPOLICY(BLUE),ANDAMISCELLANEOUSCATEGORY(PURPLE).

Finding3:Womenareunderrepresentedatalllevels,butthepercentageofwomendecreasesmarkedlywithincreasinglevelsofseniority.

THEPERCENTAGEOFWOMENINMANAGERIALROLESWASRELATEDTOHAVINGFAVOURABLEPROMOTIONPOLICIESFORWOMEN(r=.49,p<.05).WEASKEDSPECIFICALLY,ALLELSEEQUAL,WOULDYOUPROMOTEAWOMANTOMANAGEMENT?THESEFINDINGSSUGGESTTHATSUCHPOLICIESMAYBEIMPORTANTTOENSURETHATMOREWOMENOCCUPYLEADERSHIPPOSITIONS.

THEPERCENTAGEOFWOMENINMANAGERIALROLESWASALSORELATEDTOTHEPERCENTAGEOFNON-MANAGERIALFEMALEENGINEERS

PRESENTINTHECOMPANY.COMPANIESWITHMOREFEMALEENGINEERSATTHENON-MANAGERIALLEVELWEREALSOLIKELYTOHAVEMORE

FEMALEENGINEERSINFRONT-LINEMANAGEMENT(r=.39,p<.05),MIDDLEMANAGEMENT(r=.54,p<.01),ANDBOARDOFDIRECTORS(r=.38,p<.05).

0

10

20

30

40

#ofcom

panies

HUMANRESOURCEPOLICIES&PRACTICES

(59%) (56%)

(41%) (41%) (38%)(25%) (25%) (25%)

(20%) (12%) (8%)(0%)

*M=Men;W=Women


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FIGURE3SHOWSTHEREPRESENTATIONOFWOMENATDIFFERENTLEVELSOFRESPONSIBILITY,INCLUDINGTHEBOARDOFDIRECTORS.THEPERCENTAGEVALUESARETHEAVERAGESACROSSALLCOMPANIES.

Finding4.Onaveragemenhadlongertenurewiththeircurrentcompanythanwomenandthisdifferenceisstatisticallysignificant(t(26)=3.81,p<.001).

THETENUREOFFEMALEENGINEERSWASRELATEDTOORGANIZATIONSOFFERINGSPECIFIC“WORK-LIFEBALANCE”BENEFITS:1.ON-SITECHILDCARE(r=.39,p<.05),2.PAIDMATERNITYLEAVE(r=.39,p<.05)AND3.PAIDPARENTALLEAVE(r=.49,p<.01).

THETENUREOFFEMALEENGINEERSWASALSORELATEDTOTHECOMPANY’S‘GENDERDIVERSITYPERFORMANCE’CULTURE(r=.40,p<.05).ACOMPANYWITHAHIGHGENDERDIVERSITYPERFORMANCECULTUREISONETHATCONDUCTSONGOINGMEASUREMENTOFDIVERSITY

INDICATORSANDHASASTRATEGICGOALTOIMPROVEGENDERDIVERSITY.

FIGURE4SHOWSAVERAGETENUREATCURRENTCOMPANYFORMENANDWOMENINYEARS.

NOTE:M*=MEAN;SD=STANDARDDEVIATION

020406080

100

Average%

Representationatdifferentorganizationallevels(%)

Women

Men

17.6 9.1 2.6 0.5

M*=8.4;SD=4.5

M=5.9;SD=3.6

0

5

10

Years

Averagetenureatcurrentcompany(inyears)

Men

Women


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Finding5:Men’spayatalllevelswashigherthanwomen’s,butthedifferencewasstatisticallysignificantatthelevelofseniormanagement(t(5)=-2.58,p<.05).

THESIMPLEAVERAGE*SALARYPERYEARFORMENWASAPPROXIMATELY$85KATTHENON-MANAGERIALLEVEL,$107ATTHEFRONT-LINESMANAGEMENTLEVEL,AND$151KATTHESENIORMANAGEMENTLEVEL.AVERAGESALARYPERYEARFORWOMENWASAPPROXIMATELY

$80KATTHENON-MANAGERIALLEVEL,$101ATTHEFRONT-LINESMANAGEMENTLEVEL,AND$137KATTHESENIORMANAGEMENTLEVEL.

THESALARYCOMPARISONFORMENANDWOMENINTHEBOARDOFDIRECTORSISPRESENTEDINTHISGRAPH,BUTTHEREARETOOFEW

CASESOFWOMENMEMBERSOFTHEBOARDFORMEANINGFULCOMPARISON.

THESALARYOFFEMALEENGINEERSATTHENON-MANAGERIALLEVELISRELATEDTOTHETENUREOFFEMALEENGINEERSINTHE

ORGANIZATION(r=.47,p<.05).

*THESIMPLEAVERAGEISTHEAVERAGEACROSSTHECOMPANIESREPORTING.ITISUNWEIGHTEDFORTHENUMBEROFENGINEERSINCLUDED

INEACHINDIVIDUALCOMPANY’SAVERAGES.

FIGURE5SHOWSAVERAGESALARIESFORMENANDWOMENATDIFFERENTLEVELSOFRESPONSIBILITY.

NOTE:ARELATEDEESREPORTOUTLINESFINDINGSABOUTTHERELATIONSHIPBETWEENGENDERINCLUSIVEWORKPLACEPOLICIESAND

PRACTICESANDKEYEMPLOYEEOUTCOMESSUCHASORGANIZATIONALCOMMITMENT(“ENGENDERINGENGINEERINGSUCCESS–THEBENEFITSOFGENDERINCLUSIVEPOLICIESANDPRACTICES”ATHTTP://WWEST.SITES.OLT.UBC.CA/EMPLOYEE-EXPERIENCES/)

Thankyouforreadingourreport!

Youcanfindotherreportsaboutthisandpastprojectsfromourteamat:http://wwest.mech.ubc.ca/ees/

$0$50,000

$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000

AverageSalaries

Women

Men

Thankyoutooursponsors

Appendix

Work-lifebalancebenefits(Possibleresponses:“yes”,“no”,“Idon’tknow”)

Specificprograms #ofcompaniesreporting“yes”

Typeofbenefit

FlexibleHours(i.e.,workschedulingflexibilityaroundthestartandendtimesoftheworkday,thoughacertainnumberofhoursperdaymustbeworked) 34 Flexiblework

Telecommuting(i.e.,allowingemployeestoworkingfromhomeandcommunicatewiththeworkplacethroughtechnology,occasionallyorfulltime) 34 Flexiblework

Compressedworkweek(i.e.,full-timehoursareworkedinfewerthanfivedays) 25 FlexibleworkSchedulingmeetingsaroundfamily 20 FlexibleworkJobSharing 10 FlexibleworkPaidmaternityLeave(i.e.,overandabovebasicentitlements) 18 Maternity/

Parentalleave

Paidparentalleave(i.e.,overandabovebasicentitlements) 10 Maternity/Parentalleave

Transitionalprogramsforparentalleave

8

Maternity/Parentalleave

On-sitechildcare 4 FamilycareSubsidiesforchildcare 3 FamilycareChildcarefund 1 FamilycareSubsidiesforeldercare 0 Familycare

HumanResourcespoliciesandpractices(Possibleresponses:“yes”,“no”,“Idon’tknow”)

HRPolicyorpractice #ofcompaniesreporting“yes”

Typeofpolicyorpractice

Training-Men&Women 38 Training/MentorshipCareerplanning-Men&Women 23 Training/MentorshipEncouragetraining-Women 16 Training/MentorshipMentorship-Men&Women 22 Training/MentorshipWomen-to-Womenmentoring 10 Training/MentorshipResourcegroups-Women 10 Training/MentorshipBenchmarkingsurveysonpromotionfairness 10 PromotionpoliciesLeavetransitionprograms 8 PromotionpoliciesPromoteWomentoexecutive/boardlevels,allelseequal 5 PromotionpoliciesPromoteWomentomanagementlevel,allelseequal 3 PromotionpoliciesActivelyrecruitwomen 16 RecruitmentCompositionofinterviewpanels 15 RecruitmentBlindreviews-applications 0 Recruitment

Perceptionsofemployees’attitudesrelatedtovariousgenderdiversitypolicies

HRprofessionalswereaskedtoratetheattitudesofemployeestoeachofthefollowingona7-pointscale(1=Verynegative;7=Verypositive):

§ Work-lifebalancebenefits§ HRprogramsandpoliciesfocusedontheadvancementoffemaleengineers§ HRpoliciesaimedatcreatinggenderinclusivity

Climate–GenderDiversityPerformanceScale

HRprofessionalswereaskedtorateona4-itemscaletheextenttowhichtheircompanyprioritizesgenderdiversity(1=Stronglydisagree;5=Stronglyagree).

1. Improvinggenderdiversityindicators(GDI)areimportantprioritiesforyourcompanyatthepresenttime2. Managersacrossourcompanyrecognizethereisapositivevaluepropositionforincreasinggenderdiversity3. Ourcompanyhasadesignatedchampionwithauthorityandresourcestoleadthedevelopmentandexecutionof

strategiestoimproveourgenderdiversity4. Currentlyindividualmanagersareassessedfortheirperformanceinadvancingdiversityand/oraninclusive

culture

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