Women in Engineering 2011
-
Upload
esther-zhi-hong-zheng -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of Women in Engineering 2011
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
1/64
Nadya A. Fouad, Ph.D
Romila Singh, Ph.D
University o Wisconsin-Milwaukee
WHY WOMEN LEAVE ENGINEERING
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
2/64
There is little to no RESPECT or women in male-dominated elds.
Still getting asked i I can handle being in a mostly male work environmentin interviews in 2009 - Ive been an engineer or 9 years, obviously I can.I know when Im asked that question, I HAVE NO CHANCE AT THE JOB. It
is nice they brought me in or equal opportunity survey points but dontwaste my time i you dont take emales seriously.
Caucasian Industrial Engineering graduate
My current workplace is veryWOMAN ENGINEER FRIENDLY.Women get promoted and paid
at the same rate as men.
I have to getOUTSIDE OF THE CUBICLE.
My work or many years at a USnational laboratory has providedboth the fexibility and scientic/educational environment I need.
In turn I give my proessional best
while at work. It is aWIN-WIN.
Being a blonde, blue-eyed emale
DOESNT HELP when interviewing ina manuacturing/plant setting.
The lack o women in general, and the lacko women mentors makes it [engineering] aLONELYeld or women to want to stay in.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
3/64
3
TABLE OF
CONTENTS5 Executive Summary
11 Chapter 1: Introduction
15 Chapter 2: Participants Profle and Study Procedures
17 Chapter 3: Women Who Never Entered the Field o Engineering ater
Earning Their Undergraduate Degree in Engineering
23 Chapter 4: Women Engineers Who Let the Engineering Field Over Five
Years Ago
29 Chapter 5: Current and Former Women Engineers: Who Are They and
What Are They Doing?
35 Chapter 6: Women Currently Working in Engineering: How are They
Faring in their Jobs and Careers?
41 Chapter 7: Women Currently Working in Engineering: How are They
Managing Their Multiple Lie Roles?
47 Chapter 8: Women Currently Working in Engineering: How Strong is
Their Bond to the Engineering Proession and to Their Organization?
51 Chapter 9: What Explains Women Engineers Desire to Leave theCompany and the Proession?
57 Chapter 10: Summary & Recommendations
62 References
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
4/64
A study o this scope is not possible without the help and cooperation o many individuals.
The study was conducted at the University o Wisconsin-Milwaukee and unded with a
grant by the National Science Foundation.
We would irst like to acknowledge and thank the many women
engineers who so generously volunteered their time to participate
in this study. They did so with enthusiasm and commitment, oten
contributing many suggestions, ideas, and comments to help us
gain a better understanding o their decisions to stay in, or leave, an
engineering career. We couldnt have done it without them!
We thank the members o our team who were doctoral students in counseling psychology:
Jane Liu, Michelle Parisot, Catia Figuereido, and Melissa Rico and, in particular, Mary
Fitzpatrick, a ormer engineer who provided us with invaluable insights and assistance
as we developed the study.
We thank all o the partner universities or their invaluable cooperation and support.
We were remarkably ortunate to work with a number o Deans, Associate Deans, and
WIE Program Directors rom 30 partner universities who dedicated many sta hours and
resources to provide us with mechanisms to reach out to their alumnae.
We thank the members o the UWM-ENTECH team who helped to create our website and
the database, and continued to help problem solve the inevitable bugs and glitches.
We thank Gina Johnson, Communications Specialist at UWM, or her creative
conceptualization and design o all media associated with this project.
We thank Alonzo Thurman, Dean o Education at UWM, and Kanti Prasad, ormer Dean
o Lubar School o Business at UWM, or their additional nancial support o the project.
We thank Patricia Arredondo, Associate Vice Chancellor o Academic Aairs, and Sammis
White, Associate Dean, School o Continuing Education, at the UWM Center or the Study
o the Workplace, or their support and encouragement.
We thank the media relations team at UWM, particularly Tom Luljak, Vice-Chancellor,
University Communications and Media Relations, Laura Glawe, Director, University
Communications and Media Relations, and Laura Hunt, Senior University Relations
Specialist, or their assistance with the project.
Finally, we thank our amilies who gave us advice, eedback, and support, especially
Dr. A. A. Fouad, who is still disappointed his daughter chose psychology over engineering.
This project was unded by the National Science Foundation (Womens Persistence in
Engineering Careers: Contextual Barriers/Supports; NSF # 0827553). Any opinions, ndings
conclusions, and recommendations, are the authors and do not necessarily refect the
views o the National Science Foundation.
ACKNOW
LEDGEME
NTS
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
5/64
5
EXECUTIVESUMMARYSTEMMING THE TIDE: PROJECT ON
WOMEN ENGINEERS RETENTIONWomen comprise more than 20% o engineering school graduates, but only 11% o practicing engineers
are women, despite decades o academic, ederal, and employer interventions to address this gender
gap. Project on Women Engineers Retention (POWER) was designed to understand actors related to
women engineers career decisions. Over 3,700 women who had graduated with an engineering degree
responded to our survey and indicated that the workplace climate was a strong actor in their decisions
to not enter engineering ater college or to leave the proession o engineering. Workplace climate also
helped to explain current engineers satisaction and intention to stay in engineering.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
6/64
6 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
KEY FINDINGS: Some women let the feld, somenever entered and many are currently engineers:
Those who let: Nearlyhalfsaidtheyleftbecauseofworkingconditions,too
muchtravel,lackofadvancementorlowsalary.
One-in-threewomenleftbecausetheydidnotliketheworkplace
climate,theirbossortheculture.
One-in-fourlefttospendtimewithfamily.
Thosewholeftwerenotdifferentfromcurrentengineersintheir
interests,condenceintheirabilities,orthepositiveoutcomes
theyexpectedfromperformingengineeringrelatedtasks.
Those who didnt enter engineering ater graduation:
Athirdsaiditwasbecauseoftheirperceptionsofengineeringasbeinginexibleortheengineeringworkplacecultureasbeing
non-supportiveofwomen.
Thirtypercentsaidtheydidnotpursueengineeringaftergraduation
becausetheywerenolongerinterestedinengineeringorwere
interestedinanothereld.
Manysaidtheyareusingtheknowledgeandskillsgainedintheir
educationinanumberofotherelds.
Work decisions o women currently working in Engineering: Womensdecisionstostayinengineeringarebestpredictedbya
combinationofpsychologicalfactorsandfactorsrelatedtothe
organizationalclimate. Womensdecisionstostayinengineeringcanbeinuencedby
keysupportivepeopleintheorganization,suchassupervisorsand
co-workers.Currentwomenengineerswhoworkedincompaniesthat
valuedandrecognizedtheircontributionsandinvestedsubstantially
intheirtrainingandprofessionaldevelopment,expressedgreatest
levelsofsatisfactionwiththeirjobsandcareers.
Womenengineerswhoweretreatedinacondescending,patronizing
manner,andwerebelittledandunderminedbytheirsupervisors
andco-workersweremostlikelytowanttoleavetheirorganizations.
Womenwhoconsideredleavingtheircompanieswerealsovery
likelytoconsiderleavingtheeldofengineeringaltogether.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
7/64
7EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
STUDY METHODS:
In November 2009, we launched a national longitudinal study, unded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), to
investigate women engineers experiences in technical workplaces. To reach women who earned engineering undergraduate
degrees, we partnered with 30 universities and recruited their emale engineering alumnae through e-mail and postcards.
Women recognized the importance o the study and responded enthusiastically to our survey. In act, women rom an
additional 200 universities have participated ater hearing o the study in the media and through colleagues. As o January
2011, over 3,700 women have completed the survey and more than three quarters have agreed to be re-contacted in uture
waves o the study.
THE PARTICIPANTS
The engineering alumnae who participated in the study consisted o 4 groups: those with an engineering undergraduate
degree who never entered the engineering feld, those who let the feld more than 5 years ago, those who let the engineering feld
less than 5 years ago, and those who are currently working as engineers. We frst report on what we learned rom the frst
two groups o women who are no longer working in engineering. Then, to help understand potential reasons why women let
the feld, we compare current engineers with engineers who let less than 5 years ago on their perceptions o the supports
and barriers in the workplace and their perceptions o managing multiple roles. We only contrasted the current engineers with
those who let less than fve years ago to provide similar time rames or comparison as well as to ensure that recollections
were recent enough to be accurate.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
8/64
8 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
Women Who Let EngineeringSome alumnae never entered the engineering proession:
Fifteenpercent(N=560)ofourparticipantshadcompleted
therigoroustrainingrequiredtoearnabaccalaureatedegree
inengineeringbutchosenottoentertheeldofengineering.
What did they major in? Thethreemostfrequentlycited
majorswere:IndustrialEngineering,ChemicalEngineering
andMechanicalEngineering.Nearlyhalfofthisgroupof
engineersearnedanadditionaldegree,primarilymasters
degrees,although11%hadearnedanadditionalBSdegree.
Are they working?YES.Althoughtheydidnotenterengineer-
ing,4out-of-5ofthemareworkinginanotherindustry.Two
thirdsofthewomenareworkinginamanagerialorexecutive
position.Themostfrequentlycitedindustriesinwhichthey
workare:InformationTechnology,Education,andGovern-
ment/Non-prot.Aquarterofthewomenwhodidnotenter
theeldreportedthattheywereearninglessthan$50,000,whileanotherquarterreportedearningbetween$51,000and
$100,000.Mostofthisgrouphadaspousewhowasalso
employedfulltime,reectedinthethirdofthemreportinga
familyincomegreaterthan$150,000.
Why did the women not enter an engineering career? The
topvereasonswomenreportedfordecidingnottoenter
engineeringwere:Theywerenotinterestedinengineering,
didntliketheengineeringculture,hadalwaysplannedtogo
intoanothereld,didnotndthecareerexibleenough,
orwantedtostarttheirownbusiness.Thesereasonsdidnot
differsignicantlyacrossdifferentagegroupsoryearsof
graduation.
Some women let an engineering career more than fve
years ago:
One-in-veoftheparticipants(N=795)startedinanengi-
neeringcareerbutlefttheeldmorethanveyearsago.
What did they major in? Similartothewomenengineerswhoneverenteredtheengineeringeld,thetopthreemajors
earnedbythisgroupofwomenengineerswere:Industrial
Engineering,MechanicalEngineering,andChemicalEngi-
neering.Almosthalfhadearnedanadditionaldegree,most
oftenanMSorMBA.
Are they working?YES.Twothirdsarecurrentlyworking,a
thirdofthemareearningover$100,000,and70%ofthese
womenareinmanagementorexecutivelevelpositions.Mor
thantwothirdsreportedafamilyincomeofover$100,000.
Thetopthreeindustriesinwhichthesewomenareworking
inare:Education,Healthcare,andConsulting.
Why did they leave an engineering career?Aquarterofthewomenreportedthattheylefttheeldtospendmoretime
withtheirfamily.Otherwomenreportedthattheylost
interestinengineeringordevelopedinterestinanothereld,
theydidnotliketheengineeringculture,theydidnotlike
engineeringtasks,ortheywerenotofferedanyopportunities
foradvancement.
At my last engineering job women were ed up with the culture:arrogant, infexible, completely money-driven, sometimes unethical,intolerant o dierences in values and priorities. I elt alienated, inspite o spending my whole careerTRYING TO ACT LIKE A MAN.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
9/64
9EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Profle o Women Currently Workingin Engineering and Those Who LetLess Than Five Years Ago
POTENTIAL REASONS FOR LEAVING:
Thewomenwholeftengineeringlessthanveyearsago
werecomparedtothosewhoarestillinanengineering
career.Currentengineerswerethelargestgroupinourstudy
(N=2099)whilethosewholeftlessthanveyearsagowere
thesmallestgroup(N=291).Werstcomparedthegroups
onvariousdemographicandcareer-relatedvariables.
Are current engineers less likely to be married or to be parents?
NO.Thegroupswerenotsignicantlydifferentinrace,
maritalstatus,orparentalstatus.Bothgroupswereover80%
White,withtwothirdsmarried,and40%hadchildrenliving
athomewiththem.Bothgroupsofwomenwererelatively
evenlydistributedacrossthedifferentagegroups.
Are current engineers more likely to have majored in a particular
area?NO.Thetwogroupsofengineers,forthemostpart,
didnotdifferbydisciplinaryarea.Thetopthreemajorsfor
bothgroupswereChemical,Mechanical,andCivilEngineering.
Did women leave engineering to stay home with children? A
thirdappeartohavedoneso,buttwothirdsofthewomen
wholeftareworkingfulltimeinanothereld,and78%of
thoseareworkinginmanagementorexecutivelevelpositions.
Forthosewhoarecurrentlyworking,therewerenosignicant
differencesbetweenthosewholeftandthosewhostayedin
theaveragerangeofsalary.
Wenextcomparedwomencurrentlyworkinginengineering
withthosewholefttheeldkeypsychologicalfactors.Itis
possiblethatcurrentengineersdifferedfromwomenwho
leftengineeringwithregardtotheirlevelsofself-condence,
expectedoutcomesfromperformingcertaintasks,or
underlyinginterests.Wespecicallyexaminedcondence
andexpectedoutcomesinthreecriticalareasthatcomprise
asuccessfulengineeringcareerforwomen:performing
engineeringtasks,managingmultiplework-liferoles,and
navigatingthepoliticallandscapeatwork.
Are current engineers more likely than women who let
engineering less than fve years ago to:
becondentoftheirabilitiesasanengineerorwhatthey
expectfromperformingengineeringtasks?NO.
becondentoftheirabilitiestonavigatethepoliticalclimate
orwhattheyexpectfrommanagingthesedynamics?NO.
becondentoftheirabilitiestomanagemultiplework-life
roledemandsorwhattheyexpectfrommanagingmultiple
roles?NO.
haveinterestsinengineeringrelatedactivities?NO.
CURRENT ENGINEERS:
MANAGING MULTIPLE ROLES
Arewomensperceptionsofmanagingmultipleroles
inuencedbypsychologicalvariables,suchasself-condence,
orbytheirsupervisororotherworkplacefactors?
Theanswerwasboth.Thethreemostimportantcontributors
toacurrentengineersexperienceofconictbetweenwork
andfamilyroleswastheirlackofself-condenceintheir
abilitytomanagemultipleroles,beingoverloadedbytheir
currentworkrole(includingthefactthattheyweregiven
toomanytasksandhadtoomuchresponsibilitywithout
commensurateresources),andworkinginanuncivilwork
environmentthattreatedwomeninacondescendingand
patronizingmanner.
Theuseofacompanyswork-lifebenetpoliciesexacerbatedthe
conictthatengineersexperiencedbetweentheirwork-liferoles.
Thegreatertheconictexperiencedbetweenworkandnon-work
roles,thegreateristheintentiontoleavetheorganizationas
wellastheprofession.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
10/64
10
CURRENT ENGINEERS:
PREDICTING SATISFACTION AND TURNOVER
Wealsoexaminedwomensperceptionsofthework
environmentandwhetherthoseperceptionsinuenced
satisfactionorretention.Womenwholeftengineering
differedsignicantlyfromcurrentengineersonperceptions
oftheworkplaceclimate,bothintermsofsupportsand
barrierstheyencountered.Weexaminedworkplacesupport
attwolevels:rst,theextenttowhichtheirorganizations
supportedtheirtraininganddevelopment,providedavenues
foradvancement,valuedtheircontributionsatwork,and
createdasupportiveclimateforfulllingmultipleliferole
obligations.Second,supportwasassessedintermsofthe
extenttowhichthewomenengineersreportedhavinga
mentor,andreceivedsupportfromtheirsupervisorsand
co-workers.Wealsoexaminedtwotypesworkplacerelated
barriersthatcouldimpacttheirlevelsofsatisfactionaswellasthoughtsofleaving:workplaceclimatefactorswerecaptured
bytheextenttowhichsupervisors,seniormanagers,and
co-workersunderminedthemand/ortreatedthemina
condescending,patronizing,ordiscourteousmanner.A
secondsetofworkplacebarriersfocusedontheextentto
whichwomenengineerslackedclarityintheirroles,
experiencedcontradictoryandconictingworkrequests
andrequirements,andwereoverburdenedwithexcessive
workresponsibilitieswithoutcommensurateresources.
Are current engineers more likely than women who let
engineering less than fve years ago to: experience dierent types o support?YES.Currentengineers
weresignicantlymorelikelytoperceiveopportunitiesfor
traininganddevelopment.Interestingly,thecurrentengi-
neersreportedfewerwork-lifebenetsavailabletothem,but
weresignicantlymorelikelytohaveusedthosebenets.
have a mentoring relationship?NO.Onlyaboutaquarterof
eachgroupreportedhavingamentorandtherewereno
differencesinsatisfactionwithmentoring.
encounter supportive supervisors and co-workers?YES.
encounter role related barriers in the work environment?NO.
encounter organizational level barriers in the work environment?YES.Currentengineersweresignicantlylesslikelytoperceive
organizationalbarriers.Specically,theywerelesslikelyto
perceiveeitherco-workersorsupervisorsasundermining
them,perceivedlesssexismintheenvironment,andwere
lesslikelytovieworganizationaltimedemandsasabarrier.
Finally,welookedatwhatpredictscurrentengineersjob
andcareersatisfactionandtheirintentiontoleavetheir
companiesaswellastheeldofengineering.
Do workplace barriers aect current women engineers satisac-
tion?YES.Thetwobarriersthatmostnegativelyinuenced
womenssatisfactionlevelswerework-roleuncertainlyandaworkenvironmentthatconsistentlyunderminedthem.
Do workplace supports aect current women engineers
satisaction?YES.Differentformsofsupport,suchastraining
anddevelopmentopportunities,supportiveco-workersand
supervisors,andcompaniesthatallowedemployeestimeto
balancetheirmultipleliferoles,werepositivelyrelatedto
satisfaction.
Do climate actors inluence intention to leave their job?
YES.Bothworkplaceclimateandpersonalfactorsinuenced
intentiontoleave.Beingunderminedbytheirsupervisors,
perceivingthattheorganizationwasnotsupportiveofthem,
andthattheirmanagerswereunwillingtoaccommodate
theirdesiretobalancemultipleliferoles,predictedtheir
intentiontoleavetheircurrentorganizations.
What predicts intention to leave engineering as a career?
Feelingalackofcondenceintheirabilitytoperform
engineeringtasksandmanagemultiplerolescombinedwith
notbeingpositiveabouttheoutcomestheyexpectedfrom
performingengineeringtasksleadswomenengineersto
considerquittingtheengineeringeldaltogether.Theother
twomostsignicantcontributorstowomensintentionsto
quitengineeringwereexcessiveworkresponsibilitieswithou
commensurateresourcesandalackofclarityregardingtheir
workroles.
What predicts job and career satisaction?Perceivingthat
theorganizationissupportiveandprovidesopportunities
foradvancement.Personalfactorsalsowererelatedtojob
andcareersatisfaction:womenwhoreportedhighlevelsof
self-condenceinnavigatingtheirorganizationspolitical
landscapeandjugglingmultipleliferolesandwhoexpected
positiveoutcomestoresultfromtheireffortstonavigatethe
organizationalclimateatwork,weremostlikelytoexpress
bothjobandcareersatisfaction.
Do psychological actors predict intention to stay better than
work environment actors?NO.Womensintentiontostayin
engineeringasaeldandintheircurrentorganizationisbes
predictedbyacombinationofpsychologicalvariablesrelated
tocondence,expectedoutcomes,andinterests,aswellas
supportsandbarriersencounteredatwork.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
11/64
11CHAPTER: ON E
1:
INTRODUCTIONWhy Study Women Engineers?TheNationalAcademyofEngineeringhasclearlyshown
thattheUSneedstechnologicalexpertisetobecompetitive
intheglobalmarket,anditiscriticaltotrainengineersto
providethatexpertise.However,researchshowsthatwomen
aremuchmorelikelytoleaveanengineeringcareer,thus
losingmanyoftheengineersUScollegesaretraining.Women
are,infact,underrepresentedintheeldofengineeringat
everylevel.Mostoftheresearchoneffectiveinterventions
hassuccessfullyfocusedonincreasingwomenschoice
ofengineeringmajor.Theresultisthatwomenarenow
nearly20%ofengineeringgraduates.However,only11%of
professionalengineersarewomen(NationalScienceFoundation,
2011),astatisticthathasbeenstablefornearly20years.
Infact,theproportionofwomenengineershasdeclined
slightlyinthepastdecade,suggestingthat,whilethepool
ofqualiedwomenengineeringgraduateshasincreased,
theyarenotstayingintheeldofengineering.Clearly,while
oureducationalsystemishavingsomesuccessatattracting
andgraduatingwomenfromengineeringprograms,women
whoearnengineeringdegreesaredisproportionatelychoosing
nottopersistinengineeringcareers,andresearchhasnot
systematicallyinvestigatedwhatfactorsmaycontributeto
theirdecisions.
Womensdecisionsnottopersistmaybeduetotheir
ownconcernsaboutmanagingtheorganizationalclimate,
performingengineeringtasks,orbalancingworkandfamily
roles(Smith,1993)orcouldbeduetoenvironmentalbarriers,
suchasfacingachillyorganizationalclimate,particularly
duringparentingyears(SocietyofWomenEngineers,2007).
Womenmayalsoencounterorganizationalbarrierswhen
theyreachajuncturetomoveintomanagementfrom
engineeringroles.Itistherefore,criticaltounderstand
thediversityoffactorsthatleadsomewomentopersistin
engineeringandotherstoleaveit,asoureducationalsystem
mayhavearoleinbetterpreparingwomenengineersfor
workforcechallenges.Inaddition,theorganizationsthat
employwomenengineershaveavitalroleincreatingwork
environmentsthatbothattractandretainwomenengineers.
Therearepersonalcoststochoosingtoleaveacareerfor
whichonehastrainedlongandhardfor.Thereisalsoa
societalcosttolosingthepotentialof,ortheinvestmentin,
atrainedworkforce,particularlyatatimewhenthereisa
shortageoftechnologicalemployeesintheUnitedStates.In
short,itisimportanttounderstandthefactorsthatleadto
womenschoicestoleaveengineeringsothateducationalandorganizationalinstitutionscanintervenetoshiftthosechoices.
Background on EngineeringLabor ForceU.S.leadershipintechnicalinnovationhasbeenavigorous
forcebehindeconomicprosperityforatleastthelast50years.
RecentconcernaboutdecliningnumbersofU.S.citizens
choosingtoentertechnicalcareersandtheincrease
intechnologicaltalentandjobsoverseasledCongressto
asktheNationalAcademyofSciencestoanalyzetheU.S.
technicaltalentpoolandmakepolicyrecommendations
toadvanceU.S.competitivenessinglobalresearchand
developmentmarkets (CommitteeonScience,Engineering,
andPublicPolicy,2007).Thereporteffectivelyarguesforthe
increasedimportanceoftechnologytotheU.S.economy,
demonstratesglobaltrendsinresearchanddevelopment
thatfavorothercountries,andhighlightstheneedforconcrete
actiontoenhanceU.S.competitiveness.However,while
thereportbrieynotesthatU.S.womenandminoritiesare
underrepresentedinscienceandtechnology,itdoesnot
addresstheadditionallossofwomenfromtechnology
careers,post-graduation,whichrepresentsasubstantial
lossoftalentfromthetechnicalworkforce.
Aswenoteabove,womenarethemostunderrepresented
intheengineeringdisciplines.Thelossofwomenfromthe
professionaftertheycompletetheirundergraduatedegreeis
particularlydishearteningaswellascostlytotheeducational
system,society,andtowomenpersonally,giventhelargetime,
effort,andmonetaryinvestmentintheireducation.Asnoted
inarecentreviewofresearchongirlspersistenceinscience
andengineering,littleisknownaboutwhathappenstowomen
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
12/64
12 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
oncetheyentertheengineeringworkforce(NationalScience
Foundation,2006).However,areportrecentlyreleasedbythe
SocietyofWomenEngineers (2007)suggeststhattheyleave
engineeringcareersinpartbecausetheyencounterachilly
organizationalclimatewhentheyreachchildbearingage
anddesiretobalanceworkandfamilyroles.
Factors Related to Employee TurnoverForanyindividual,thedecisiontopersistorchangecareers,
jobs,ororganizationsisoftenprecipitatedbyavarietyof
factorsthatinuencethetrajectoryofthechoiceprocess.
Henceitisimportanttocaptureboththemoreimmediate
predictorsofthatchoice(suchaswithdrawalcognitions)
aswellasmoredistalpredictors(suchasattitudestowards
theircareerandotherbarriersandsupports)thatleadto
eitherpersistenceinacareerorthedecisiontoleave.By
examiningtheantecedentsofemployeeturnover,itispossible
togainanewunderstandingofsomeofthefactorsthatinuenceindividualsdecisionstostayorleaveagivencareer
eld,job,ororganization.
Employeeturnoverhasbeenthesubjectofintenseempirical
andtheoreticalscrutinyforseveraldecadesandhasgenerated
animpressivebodyofknowledgeaboutthewithdrawal
process(e.g.,Grifth,Hom,&Gaertner,2000;Lee,Mitchell,
Holtom,McDaniel,&Hill,1999;Mitchell,Holtom,Lee,Sablynski,
&Erez,2001).Turnoverdecisionresearchpointsoutthat
employeesengageinthinkingaboutquittingwhichmay
ormaynotresultinactualquitting;insteadthesethought
processes(withdrawalcognitions)maytriggeralternativeformsofwithdrawalsuchasplanstosearchforalternative
jobopportunities,generalthoughtsorconsiderationsof
quitting,andintentionstoquit(Hanisch,1995).Withdrawal
cognitionsalsoincludetheconceptofpsychological
withdrawal,whichreferstoadeliberatere-directionof
thoughtprocessesandpersonalplansawayfromones
currentposition.Thesecognitionsaremanifestedinabroad,
encompassingreductionofinputstoonescurrentrolesuch
asabsenteeism,lateness,andinattention,orbasicneglect
ofduties(Hanisch,1995;Shaffer&Harrison,1998).Employees
whoremainintheorganizationbutarepsychologically
withdrawnmayincurindirectcoststotheirorganizationsthroughreducedproductivityandreducedstaffmorale.
Further,psychologicalwithdrawalmayalsobedamagingto
theemployeeintheformofdiminishedself-esteem,impaired
relationshipsatworkandhome,andinterruptedcareers.
Prevailingmodelsofvoluntaryturnoverandaccumulated
researchevidenceindicatethatwithdrawalcognitionsarethe
immediateprecursorstoactual,voluntaryturnoverdecisions
(Griffethetal.,2000;Hom&Kinicki,2001;Maertz&Campion,
2004).Withdrawalcognitions,inturn,areusuallyprecipitated
bynegativeevaluationsaboutonesjob(i.e.,lowerjobsatis
faction)andloweredcommitmenttotheorganization.This
isconsistentwithattitudetheory(Ajzen&Fishbein,1980)
whichpositsthatbehaviorisdeterminedbytheintention
toperformthebehaviorandthatthisintentionis,inturn,
afunctionoftheattitudetowardthebehavior.Researchon
voluntaryturnoverprocesshasshowngeneralsupportfor
thisunfoldingsequenceofexitbehavior:jobdissatisfaction
andloweredcommitmentprogressestowardwithdrawal
cognitions,andwithdrawalcognitionsinturn,leadto
turnover.Researchontherelationshipbetweenturnover
intentionsandattitudinalvariablessuchasjobsatisfaction
andorganizationalcommitmenthavefoundthatbothjob
satisfactionandcommitmentwerenegativelycorrelated
withwithdrawalcognitions (e.g.,George&Jones,1996;Hom&
Kinicki,2001;Rosin&Korabik,1995),andwithdrawalcognitions
predictedturnover(e.g.,Hom&Kinicki,2001).
Despitedifferencesinlabormarketbehaviorsbymen
andwomen,researchongenderdifferencesinvoluntary
turnoverhasbeensurprisinglylimited.Furthermore,
existingresearchhasproducedinconsistentndings.For
examplesomestudiesindicatethatwomenandpeopleof
colortendtoleavetheirjobsatahigherratethanCaucasian
males(e.g.,Cox&Blake,1991;Stuart,1992)whileotherstudie
reporttheoppositeeffect:turnoverformalesisgreaterthantha
forfemales(e.g.,Barrick,Mount,&Strauss,1994;Blau&Lunz,1998)
Giventhatwithdrawalbehaviorprogressesintheseclearly
identiablestages,itisimportanttounderstandabroad
rangeofbarriersandsupportsthatmayleadtopoorcareer
commitment,psychologicalwithdrawal,andintentionsto
quittheorganizationandtheengineeringprofession.
Byunderstandingtheprocessthatleadstoturnover
fromengineeringcareers,wewillbebetterabletodesign
appropriateinterventionsthatfacilitatewomensdecision
topersistinengineeringcareers.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
13/64
13
Womens Preparation toEnter STEM FieldsWhileweknowlittleaboutthefactorsthatpredictthe
turnoverofemployedengineers,therehasbeenresearch
topredictinitialvocationalchoicesofengineeringasa
careerwithinK-16educationalsettings.Thisresearchhas
examinednotonlyengineeringasacareerchoice,butalso
thechoicestotaketheadvancedmathematicsandscience
classesthatarecriticaltoengineeringeducationatthe
baccalaureatelevel.
Researchhassuggestedinterventionsthatfocusonincreasing
girlsparticipationthatincludepromotingmath/science
interests(e.g.,OBrien,1996) ,promotingthehuman-value
characteristicsofengineering (Eccles,2007),increasing
parentalsupportformathandadvancedclasses(e.g.,Burgard,
2000),promotingpositiveenvironments(e.g.,Dooley,2001) ,
focusingontheoutcomeexpectationsofmathandscience
(e.g.,Edwardson,1998;Nauta&Epperson,2003)andincreasing
math/scienceandengineeringself-efcacy(Mau,2003).
Collegeshavealsoinstitutedsystemicinterventions,such
astheModelInstitutesforExcellence,aNationalScience
Foundationprogram,thatincludementoring,tutoring,
targetedadvising,andfacultydevelopment.And,indeed,
therehasbeenasmallbutmeasurableimprovementin
womensgraduationratesinengineeringoverthelastdecade.
Forexample,from1995to2010,thepercentageofwomen
whohaveearnedbachelorsdegreesinengineeringhas
increasedfrom17.3%to20.1%(NationalScienceFoundation,
2011),andtheimpactofrecenteducationalinterventionef-
fortswilllikelybeseenincomingyears.
Womenwhodochooseengineeringandpersistthrough
theeducationalsystemtoachieveatechnicaldegreehave
demonstratedinterestintheireld(Davey,2001),expect
positiveoutcomesfromtheirparticipation (Shaefers,Epperson
&Nauta,1997),possessthemath,science,andengineering
self-efcacysufcienttonavigaterequiredtechnicalcoursework
(Lentetal,2003),andvaluetheoccupationalcharacteristics
oftechnicaljobs(Eccles,2007).Thus,onewouldexpectthat
womenwhoearnengineeringdegreeswouldbelikelyto
persistandbesuccessfulintheircareers.However,womens
representativenumbersinengineeringandthephysical
sciencesdeclinesignicantlypost-graduationandtheoc-
cupationalpipelinecontinuestonarrowsuchthatwomen
arelessandlessrepresentedovertheircareerspan(Preston,
2004;SocietyofWomenEngineers,2007).
Women Leave Engineering CareersMore Than Other FieldsPreston(2004)reportedthatallengineersleavetheeld
ataratefourtimesthatofdoctors,threeandahalftimes
thatoflawyersandjudges,and15-30%morethannurses
orcollegeteachers.Specictoengineering,theSocietyof
WomenEngineers(SWE)recentlyreportedthatoneinfour
womenwhoenterengineeringhavelefttheprofession
afterage30,comparedtooneintenmaleengineers(SWE,
2007).However,whilethesestudieshavedocumentedthat
womenhavelefttheeldofengineering,theyhavenot
focusedonthepsychologicalprocessesinvolvedinmaking
theirdecisiontoleavetheprofession.Theirdecisioncould
berelatedtoconcernswithwork/familybalanceorlackof
advancementopportunities.Itcouldbebecausetheyreach
ajuncturewheretheyhavetodecidetoenteramanagement
career,orfacethepossiblylimitedopportunitiesthatmaycomewithanexclusivelytechnicalengineeringrole.Itcould
bethattheynolongerenjoytheworkofanengineer.Itcould
bebecausetheyencounterachillyorganizationalclimate.
Therearemanypossibilitiesthathavesurfacedfromanecdotal
accountsbutlittleresearchtooffersometangibleevidence.
...I got to a certain point inmy engineering career whenI NO LONGER ADVANCED. I eltI needed additional education
to move orward, but no topics
interested me as much as
computer programming, so I
changed my career to that.
It was a good change. I have
been more successul in the
computer eld than I was in
the engineering eld.
Caucasian Mechanical Engineering graduate
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
14/64
OUR STUDY
The problem we set out to investigate was why women choose to leave engineering careers. Much o the research
on career choices has been based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett 2002). The SCCT model
has been used to help explain the actors related to initial career choice, but has not yet been studied to explain careerpersistence decisions in the workplace. We extended this model to predict womens choices related to engineering
persistence in the workplace by incorporating research related to career attitudes (career satisaction and commitment),
psychological withdrawal, and turnover intentions.
We hope that this research can help us develop interventions(educational, organizational, and/or personal) to possibly
STEM THE TIDE OF DEPARTURE AND INCREASE WOMENS PERSISTENCE IN ENGINEERING CAREERS.The results rom this study may be useul to employers who seek to attract and retain talented women engineers, and in
doing so, realize their investment in their technical employees. Understanding the dynamics o womens technical
career paths over their liespan may also support development o interventions or womens university education, perhapsto better prepare uture engineers or challenges they will ace in the workplace.
14 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
15/64
15WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
2:PARTICIPANTSPROFILEANDSTUDY PROCEDURESIn November o 2009, we launched POWER (Project on Women Engineers Retention), a national longitudinal
study unded by the National Science Foundation, to investigate women engineers experiences in technical
workplaces. In collaboration with ENTECH (Empowering Nonprofts in Technology) at the University o
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, we developed a website or POWER, which includes inormation about the study
and a link to the survey. Data rom the frst phase o the longitudinal study have been collected and our
report is based on the fndings rom this frst wave o participants.
Who Are The Participants?Atotalof3,745womenwhograduatedwithabachelors
degreeinengineeringparticipatedandcompletedthestudy.
Ofthis,560(15%)womenobtainedadegreebutnever
workedasanengineer,1,086(29%)womenpreviously
workedasanengineerbuthavelefttheeldsince(291of
theseleftlessthanveyearsago),and2,099(56%)women
arecurrentlyworkinginengineering.
WOMEN WHO GRADUATED BUT
DID NOT ENTER ENGINEERING
Thisgroupofwomenearnedabachelorsinengineering
butdidnotentertheeld.Thiswasthemostraciallyand
ethnicallydiversegroupinthestudy.Womeninthisgroup
include:65%Caucasian,18%Multi-racial,9%Asian,5%
AfricanAmerican,2%Latina,andlessthan1%American
Indian.Ofthosewhoreportedtheirmaritalstatus,about
half(46%)ofthewomenweremarried,athird(29%)were
notmarried,andasmallpercentageindicatedthatthey
wereeithernotmarriedbutinacommittedrelationship
(4%),divorced(3%),separated(
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
16/64
16 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
CURRENT ENGINEERS
Womenwhoarecurrentlyworkinginengineeringrepresent
thelargestgroupinthestudy(2,099).Aswiththeother
groups,mostofthewomenself-identiedthemselvesasWhite
(84%),8%wereAsian,4%indicatedmulti-racialheritage,2%
AfricanAmerican,2%Latina,andlessthan1%asAmerican
Indian.Abouttwo-thirdsofthewomenweremarried(62%),22%
reportednotbeingmarried,8%wereinacommittedrelationship,
5%weredivorced,1%wereseparated,and
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
17/64
17WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
3:WOMEN
WHO NEVERENTEREDTHE FIELDOFENGINEERINGAFTER EARNING THEIRUNDERGRADUATEDEGREE IN ENGINEERING
You have to be a bitTOUGHERwhen you are around the guys,you eel you have to do better
than them to be accepted Caucasian Operations & Research Engineering graduate
I interviewed with a company where there were NO WOMENworking there, besides secretaries, NO MINORITIES and noone in the young adult age group. Arican American Chemical Engineering graduate
I do not know why otherwomen leave engineering.I got an engineering
degree because I was very
good at math & sciences
and wanted a technical &
CHALLENGING degree. Caucasian Electrical Engineering graduate
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
18/64
18 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
WHO ARE THE WOMEN WHO NEVER
ENTERED THE ENGINEERING FIELD?
Fifteenpercentofengineeringalumnaewho
participatedinthePOWERstudywerewomen
whoneverenteredanengineeringeldafter
receivingadegreeinengineering.Ofthewomen
whoneverentered(n=560),themajority
(n=267,48%)graduatedbetweentheyears
2000-2010.
MorethanhalfofthePOWERparticipants
(65%)whohaveneverenteredanengineereldwereWhite.Thesecondlargestgroup
wasofparticipantswhoidentiedwithmore
thanonerace(18%).Theageofthewomen
intheNon-Entrantsgrouprangedfrom22-66
yearsold.Nearlyhalf(46%)ofthewomenwere
marriedand29%reportedneverbeingmarried.
Mostofthewomenreportedhavingaspouse
thatisemployedfull-time.Mostofthewomen
whohaveneverenteredanengineeringeld
arenotparents(61%)andthemajorityofthem
(98%)didnotcarefordependents.
25%20%15%10%5%0%
Prior to 1983
1984-1989
1990-1994
1995-1999
2000-2004
2005-2010
Total
American Indian0%
AsianAfrican-American
Latina2%
5%
Multi-racial
18%
White
66%
9%
Figure 1 Percentage of Women Who Never Entered Engineering
Based on Graduation Year
Figure 2Racial/Ethnic Background of Women Who Never Entered Engineering
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
19/64
19
IndividualContributor37%
Executive40%
Manager23%
CHAPTER THREE
Mostwomen(64%)whohaveneverentered
anengineeringeldreportedworkingatleast
40hoursperweekinacurrentnon-engineering
position.Individualsalaryrangedfromlessthan
$50,000-tomorethan$151,000.Twenty-six
percentofwomenwhoneverenteredtheengi-
neeringeldreportedearninglessthan$50,000
and25%make$51,000-$100,000.Thirtypercent
ofparticipantsinthisgroupreportedafamily
totalincomeofmorethan$151,000,15%earned
$101,000-$150,000,14%earnedbetween$51,000-
$100,000,and10%earnedlessthan50,000.
ThehighestpercentageofwomenintheNon-Entrantsgroup(40%)reportedhavingan
executivemanagementstatusposition.Other
womeninthegroup(23%)reportedeither
havingamanagerstatuspositionoranindividual
contributorposition(37%).
WHAT IS THE EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUND OF WOMEN WHO
NEVER ENTERED ENGINEERING?
Thetopvemajorareasofstudyreportedby
morethanhalfoftheNon-Entrantsincluded
thefollowing:IndustrialEngineering(21.6%),
ChemicalEngineering(12.8%),Mechanical
Engineering(12.7%),ElectricalEngineering(10
%),andBioengineering(8.7%).
Nearlyhalf(46.3%)oftheNon-Entrantshadan
additionaldegree.Ofthewomenwhoreceived
anadditionaldegree,18%earnedanM.S.
degree,12%earnedanadditionalM.B.Adegree,
11%earnedaB.S.,and4%earnedaPhD.
25%
30%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Individual Salary
$151,000+$101,000-
150,000
$51,000-
100,000
$50,000
and less
Family Total Income
Figure 3Individual and Family Income based on the Percentage of
Women Who Never Entered Engineering
Figure 4Organizational Rank of Women Who Never Entered Engineering
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
20/64
20 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
WHAT ARE THESE WOMEN DOING NOW?
Table 1:Primary Activities of Women Who Never Entered Engineering (for Different Years of Graduation)
Primary Activity Before 1983 1984-1989 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2010 Total
Currently working
(in non-engineering industry)29 59 67 100 107 86 448
Family care 2 10 10 5 12 5 44
Retired 2 1 0 0 0 0 3
Volunteer 0 0 1 0 0 3
Other 0 2 2 3 15 39 61
Total Responses = 560
Figure 5Primary Activities of Women Who Never Entered Engineering
Currently Working(non-engineering industry)
80%
Other11%
Family CareVolunteer1%
8%
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
21/64
21CHAPTER THREE
KEY FINDINGS:80% are working ull time in another eld
Organizational climate was a actor in not entering engineering
- lack o fexibility, didnt like the culture, management not appealing
Lack o interest cited as a reason not to enter engineering
20% never planned to enter and pursued other post-graduate degrees
20% wanted to start their own business
ENGINEERING SCHOOL WAS PURE HELL or me - my personality inspiredmuch sexist behavior rom my male classmates and my T.A.s...At some point, ater many interviews, I decided that I wouldnt
want to spend the majority o my waking hours with the type o
people interviewing me. Caucasian Mechanical Engineering graduate
WHY DID WOMEN WITH AN ENGINEERING DEGREE NEVER ENTER THE ENGINEERING FIELD?
Table 2: Reasons Why Women Never Entered Engineering for Different Years of Graduation
Reason For Not Entering Before 1983 1984-1989 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2010 Total
couldnt nd position 1 11 3 8 13 14 50
management not appealing 0 2 3 3 7 5 20
too dicult 2 3 4 5 4 8 26
low salary 1 2 8 17 11 8 47
no advancement 1 3 6 11 9 10 40
not fexible enough 2 2 6 7 14 14 45
never planned to enter 4 16 11 20 32 24 107
wanted to start own business 7 14 16 21 29 36 123
didnt like culture 4 13 18 28 27 29 119
not interested in engineering 9 25 24 34 46 32 170
Total Responses = 747
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
22/64
22 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
23/64
23WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
In my experience, women leaveengineering orFAMILY REASONS.I let engineering when I had myrst child. I decided to stay
home with my children...we
moved to an area with very ew
engineering jobs. So I decided to
go back to school and become a
math teacher. Caucasian Electrical Engineering Graduate
[There is no] opportunity or advancement in a male-dominated eld- the culture o engineering is male-centricwith HIGH EXPECTATIONS or travel and little personal time. Caucasian Chemical Engineering Graduate
4:WOMENWHO LEFTTHEENGINEERINGFIELDOVER FIVEYEARS AGO
There is not a strong network oemales in engineering. You eitherneed to learn to be one o the guys
orBLAZE THE TRAIL YOURSELF, whichis very dicult. I deviated rom
engineering... but work now in
construction, where I am the only
emale executive ocer. Caucasian Agricultural Engineering Graduate
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
24/64
24 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
American Indian0%
AsianAfrican-American
Latina2%
Multi-racial 2%
4%
White
85%
6%
WHO ARE THE WOMEN WHO
LEFT OVER FIVE YEARS AGO?
Thirtythreepercentofengineeringalumnae
whoparticipatedinthePOWERstudywere
womenwhoenteredanengineeringeldafter
receivingadegreeinengineeringandhaveleft
theeldmorethanveyearsago.Ofthewom-
enwhodidnotpersistinengineeringandleft
morethanveyearsago(n=795),thelargest
group(n=243,31%)graduatedpriorto1983.
Themajorityofthisgroupofwomenengineers
(85%)wasWhiteandreportedbeingmarried
(79%)with11%reportingneverbeingmarried.
Mostofthewomenreportedhavingaspouse
thatisemployedfull-time.Mostofthewomen
whohavelefttheengineeringeldoverve
yearsagoareparents(62%).
25%20%15% 35%30%10%5%0%
Prior to 1983
1984-1989
1990-1994
1995-1999
2000-2004
2005-2010
Total
Figure 2Racial/Ethnic Background of Women
who Left Engineering Over Five Years
Figure 1 Percentage of Women Who Left the Engineering Field More Than
Five Years Ago Based on Graduation Year
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
25/64
25CHAPTER FOUR
Almosthalf(45%)ofthewomenwholeftthe
engineeringeldoverveyearsagoreported
workingatleast40hoursperweekinacurrent
non-engineeringposition.Individualsalary
rangedfromlessthan$50,000-tomorethan
$151,000.Twenty-twopercentofwomenin
thisgroupreportedearningbetween$101,000-
150,000and13%earnmorethan$151,000.
Forty-onepercentofwomeninthisgroup
reportedearningafamilytotalincomeofmore
than$151,000.
Morethanhalfofthewomeninthisgroupreportedbeinginanexecutivemanagementpo-
sition,15%wereinamanagerialposition,and
30%reportedbeingindividualcontributors.
WHAT IS THE EDUCATIONAL BACK-
GROUND OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
WHO LEFT ENGINEERING OVER FIVE
YEARS AGO?
Thetopvemajorareasofstudyreportedby
thisgroupincludedthefollowing:IndustrialEngineering(22%),MechanicalEngineering
(18%),ChemicalEngineering(15%),Electrical
Engineering(15%),andCivilEngineering(8%).
Almosthalf(41%)ofthisgroupofwomen
engineersearnedanadditionaldegree:25%
earnedanM.S.degree,14%earnedanMBA
degree,9%earnedaB.S.,and4%earnedanad-
ditionalM.A.degree,and2%earnedaPhD.
IndividualContributor30%
Executive55%
Manager15%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%Individual Salary
$151,000+$101,000-
150,000
$51,000-
100,000
$50,000
and less
Family Total Income
Figure 3Individual and Family Income Based on the Percentage
of Women Who Left Over Five Years
Figure 4:Organizational Rank of Women Who Left Engineering
Over 5 Years Ago
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
26/64
26 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
WHAT ARE THESE WOMEN DOING NOW?
Primary Activities of Women Who Left Engineering Over Five Years Ago (For Different Years of Graduation)
What are they currently doing? Before 1983 1984-1989 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2010 Total
currently working
(in non-engineering industry) 154 150 101 92 36 2 535
Family care 32 60 42 27 7 3 171
Retired 26 3 0 1 0 0 30
Volunteer 12 3 2 1 0 0
Other 18 7 3 7 1 0 36
Total Responses = 790
Figure 5Primary Activities of Women Engineers
Who Left Engineering Over 5 years Ago
Volunteer2%
Other
Retired
Currently Working68%
Family Care
22%4%
4%
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
27/64
27CHAPTER FOUR
KEY FINDINGSMore than two-thirds are working in another eld, hal o those are in
executive positions
Nearly hal o women let a career in engineering because o working conditions
- too much travel, lack o advancement, or low salary.
Thirty percent let engineering because o organizational climate
A quarter let a career in engineering because they wanted more time with amily
[I let because I wanted] more OPPORTUNITY FORADVANCEMENT in non-engineering positions Caucasian Mechanical Engineering Graduate
WHAT WERE THE REASONS FOR LEAVING ENGINEERING?
Reasons Why Women Left Engineering (For Different Years of Graduation)
Reason Left Before 1983 1984-1989 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2010 Total
too dicult 3 2 0 1 0 0 6
couldnt nd position 4 0 6 5 1 0 16
started own business 8 3 7 2 1 0 21
Didnt like co-workers 4 0 6 7 6 1 24
too much travel 15 3 12 12 2 0 44
low salary 10 4 15 14 3 2 48
too many hours 27 6 18 11 6 0 68
confict with amily 38 8 16 7 1 0 70
poor working conditions 21 1 23 20 8 1 74
Didnt like boss 26 2 22 23 9 2 84
Didnt like culture 24 3 27 18 12 1 85
Didnt like daily tasks 28 5 26 40 15 1 115
no advancement 45 8 41 38 8 2 142
lost interest 32 6 40 41 13 2 134
wanted more time with amily 76 13 58 30 7 1 185
Total Responses = 1116 (Note: women could choose more than one reason)
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
28/64
28 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
29/64
29
5:CURRENTANDFORMERWOMEN ENGINEERS:WHO ARE THEYANDWHAT ARETHEY DOING?
being a female minority, it wasDIFFICULT to work with white men whowere much older than me and did notshare a similar background. Asian American Chemical Engineering graduate
Te pressure is intense, and withno viable part-time alternatives, awoman [engineer] is FORCED TOCHOOSEbetween work and family. Caucasian Civil Engineering graduate
Women leave engineering due to lack o jobsatisaction, lack o reliable emale rolemodels, infexible work schedules, workplace
discrimination, WHITE MIDWESTERN MEN syndrome,and glass ceiling issues. Latina Civil Engineering Graduate
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
30/64
30 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
PROFILE OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
Thestudywasdesignedtounderstandwhywomen
engineersleavetheeldofengineering.Forthose
whoarecurrentlyworkinginengineering,wesought
togauge/assesstheirintentionstoleavetheeldand
toexplainfactorsrelatedtotheirsatisfactionwiththeir
jobandwithanengineeringcareer.Werstreporton
twogroupsofwomeninthischapter;thosewhoare
currentlyworkingasengineersandthosewholeft
recently,lessthanveyearsago.Wechose5yearsasa
cutoffforourcomparisonpointtoprovidesimilartime
framesforcomparisonaswellastoensurethatrecol-
lectionswererecentenoughtobeaccurate.Thus,thewomenwholeftengineeringlessthanveyearsago
werecomparedtothosewhoarestillinanengineering
career.Currentengineerswerethelargestgroupinour
study(N=2,099)whilethosewholeftlessthanve
yearsagowerethesmallestgroup(N=291).Ascan
beseenfromtheotherchaptersinthisreport,the
womenwhohadleftengineeringlessthanveyears
agowereoverallthesmallestgroupinoursample.
Wedonotknowwhythismightbethecase.This
groupwasdistributedacrossageandcohortlevels
similartotheothergroups,andwecanassumethat
theyreceivedtheemailinvitationtotakepartinthe
surveyatthesamerateastheotherwomeninthe
study.Itmaybethattheirdecisiontoleaveengineering
leftanemotionallegacythattheydidnotwantto
revisitbyparticipatinginthesurvey.Thisisahypoth-
esis,however,andwereallydonotknowwhytheir
representationisthesmallest.However,thisgroup
ofparticipantswaslargeenoughtoallowustomake
somecomparisonswithwomenwhoarecurrently
workinginengineering.
Werstcomparedthetwogroupsonvarious
backgroundfactors.
Prior to 1983
1984-1989
1990-1994
1995-1999
2000-2004
2005-2010
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Number of Participants
Graduation Year of Current Women Engineers
Prior to 1983
1984-1989
1990-1994
1995-1999
2000-2004
2005-2010
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Number of Participants
Graduation Year of Women Who LeftEngineering in The Past 5 Years
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
31/64
31CHAPTER FIVE
Mostofthewomenwhoarecurrentlyworkinginengineeringwork43.5hoursaweek,hadbeenwith
theirorganizationfor8years,andreportedearningsalariesrangingfrom$76,000to$125,000.This
groupofwomenwasverydiverseintermsoftheirundergraduateengineeringmajorswithmostofthem
representingchemical,mechanical,andcivilengineeringelds.
45
44
43
42
40
39
38
37
36
0
Hours Worked (per week)
Current Engineers Former Engineers
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Tenure with Current Organization
Current Engineers Former Engineers
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Total Compensation (salary, bonuses, stocks, & commissions)
Under 25K 25-50K 51-75K 76-100K 101-125K 126-150K 151-175K 17-200K Over 201K
Current Engineers Former Engineers
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
32/64
32 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
Abouthalfofthemareindividualcontributorsin
theirorganizationwhileone-thirdareinproject
managementpositions.Theleastcommonpositions
occupiedbytheseengineerswereinexecutiveroles
(15%).Consistentwiththepercentageofindividual
contributors,abouthalfoftheengineerswerenotin
asupervisoryrole.Forthoseinmanagementposi-
tions,amajorityofengineersinthisgroupsuper-
visedbetween1to5individuals.Mostworkedin
groupsthatwerepredominantlymalewithasmaller
number(18%)reportingworkingingenderbal-
ancedgroups.
Therewerenosignicantdifferencesbe-
tweenwomenwhoarecurrentlyworkingin
engineeringandthosewholeftengineering
lessthanveyearsagointermsofthehours
worked(38hours/week),lengthoftenure
withtheircompany(5.5years),averagerange
ofsalaryreported(between$51,000and
$75,000),andbothgroupswerelikewise
mostlikelytohavegraduatedwithchemical,
mechanical,andcivilengineeringdegrees.
Similartowomenwhoarecurrentlyworking
inengineering,womenwholeftengineering
wereequallyinnon-management(22%)and
projectmanagementroles(21%).Theleast
commonpositionsoccupiedbytheseengi-
neerswereexecutiveroles(10%).Similarto
womenwhoarecurrentlyinengineering,the
majorityofwomenwholeftlessthan5years
agowerenotinasupervisoryrole.
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Gender Make-up of Co-workers
All Women Mostly Equal # Mostly All MenWomen of Men & Men
Women
C urre nt Engi neers For mer Enginee rs
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Management Rank
IndividualContributor
Project orProgramManager
Executive
Current Engineers
Former Engineers
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
33/64
33CHAPTER FIVE
Forthoseinmanagementpositions,themajorityindicatedthattheyhad1to5directreportsandwere
mostlikelytoworkingroupsthatwerepredominantlymale;however,alargernumberwholeftengineer-
ing(25%)reportedworkingingenderbalancedgroups.
Currentwomenengineersinoursamplewerenolesslikelytobemarriedortobeparentsastheircounter-
partswholeftengineeringlessthanveyearsago.Neitherdidthetwogroupsofwomendifferintermsof
theirracewhichwaspredominantlyCaucasian,althoughmany(5%forthosewholeftand4%forcurrent
engineers)reportedmulti-racialheritageaswell.Bothgroupsofwomenwererelativelyevenlydistributed
acrossthedifferentcohort(orgraduationgroups).
50%
40%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Number of Direct Reports
0 1 - 2 3 - 5 6 - 10 11 - 24 25 - 50 50 - 100 over 100
Curre nt Engineer s F orme r Engine ers
Other2%
Latina3%
American Indian0%
Asian
African-American
3%
Multi-racial
White
79%
8% 5%
Racial Ethnic Background of Former Engineers
Latina2%
Asian
African-American 2%
Multi-racial
American Indian0%
White
84%
4%8%
Racial Ethnic Background of Current Engineers
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
34/64
34 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
Worked in a department or 4 years - in that time, 3people out o 50 got promotions - all men. Then only
the women and elders got laid o. Senior VP couldnt
even handle saying hello to emales in the hallway.
His AWKWARD OLD SCHOOL TENDENCIES made him unable to
consider emales as equals. This was at a companywith 90% emale employees throughout the company;
just a lack o emales in the engineering group.
Caucasian Industrial Engineering graduate
Most o management is a male-dominated culture(male conversation topics, long hours, demanding
liestyle, career-ocused expectations). Women
usually choose to leave WITHOUT FIGHTING THE UPHILL BATTLE
to make improvements. It is a sel-sustaining cycle!
Asian American Operations Research and Engineering Graduate
KEY FINDINGCurrent and ormer engineers do not dier in
marital or parental status, engineering major,
salary level, or number o direct reports.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
35/64
35
6:WOMEN CURRENTLYWORKINGINENGINEERING:HOW ARE THEYFARINGIN THEIRJOBSANDCAREERS?
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
36/64
36 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
Careersuccesscanbedenedinmanyways.Oneofthe
mostcommonwaysofassessingcareersuccessisbylooking
attangiblesignssuchastotalcompensation,numberof
promotions,rankattainedandothersimilarobjective
indicatorsofsuccess.Othershaveconsideredmoresubjective
criteriasuchassatisfactionwithonesjobandcareerandhaveusedtheseasabenchmarkforcareersuccess.Inthe
POWERstudy,wedenedcareersuccessintermsofsubjective
criteriasuchassatisfactionwithonesjobandcareer,and
objectivecriteriasuchastotalcompensation(includingsalary,
bonuses,stockoptionsetc.),numberofdirectreports,and
numberofrecentpromotions.
Understandingwhatcomprisescareersuccessisimportant
becauseresearchhaslinkedindividualscareersuccessto
importantorganizationalandindividualoutcomessuchas
organizationalcommitment,lackofintentiontoleavethe
companyorthecareer,andperformance.Moreimportantly,
byexaminingthedifferentelementsthatcontributetocareer
success,wecanbegintoshedlightonhowsuccessfulwomen
engineersareintheworkplaces.Todate,theresbeenno
researchthathasuncoveredthedifferentdimensionsofcareer
successforwomenengineersandwhatfactorsinuenceit.
Inthischapter,weexaminefactorsrelatedtothesubjective
experienceofcareersuccess:i.e.,jobandcareerandsatisfaction
ofcurrentengineers.Attheendofthischapter,webriey
comparewomenwhoarecurrentlyworkinginengineering
withthosewholefttheeldonsomeofthesalientfactors
relatedtosatisfaction.
InthePOWERstudy,careersatisfactionwasmeasuredby
askingtheparticipantstoreporttheirlevelsofsatisfaction
withvarietyoffactorssuchaspay,progresstowardcareer
goals,advancement,anddevelopmentofnewskills.Job
satisfactionwascapturedbywomensoverallfeelingstoward
theirjobs.
Thewomenwhoarecurrentlyworkinginengineering
expressedaboveaveragelevelsofsatisfactionwiththeirjobs
andcareers.Mostofthemreportedthattheirlastpromotion
waswithinthepast5years.Asnotedintheprevioussection,
15%areinseniorexecutivepositionsandathirdinproject
managementpositionsand25%hadbothlineandstaffresponsibilities(16%hadonlystaffresponsibilities;27%
hadonlylineresponsibilities,and9%didnotdisclose).
Typically,allthesedimensionsthatcomprisecareersuccess
arestronglyrelatedtooneanotherandwefoundthesame
tobetrueforcurrentwomenengineers.Specically,women
whoreportedhigherlevelsofsatisfactionwiththeirjobs
andcareersalsotendedtobeinmoreseniorexecutiveroles
withgreaternumberofdirectreports,andearninghigher
salariesthanthosewhowererelativelylesssatisedwith
theirjobsandcareers.Womenengineerswhoweresatised
withtheirjobsandcareersalsoindicatedthattheywere
satisedwiththenumberofhourstheyworkedperweek.
WHAT DRIVES THE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE
OF CAREER SUCCESS?
Inthisstudy,weintegratedseveraldifferentstrandsofresearch
andlookedatavarietyofpersonalandorganizational
factorsthathavethepotentialtoexplainthesubjective
experienceofcareersuccessasreectedinwomenscareer
andjobsatisfaction.Specically,weexaminedtheeffects
ofwomensself-condencewithregardtoperforming
engineeringtasks,navigatingthepoliticallandscape,and
managingmultipleliferoles,aswellastheoutcomeswomenexpectedfromperformingtheseactivities.
Workplacesupportisakeycomponentoftheoverallwork
environment.Itismanifestedinthemultipletypesand
layersofsupportthatemployeesexperienceatvariouslevels
intheirworkplaces.Ataverybroadlevel,workplacesupport
isreectedintheextenttowhichacompanyvaluesthe
contributionsofitsemployeesandshowscareandconcern
towardtheiremployeeswellbeing.Onecanalsoinferthe
supportivenessofacompanybylookingattheprovision
oftraininganddevelopmentopportunitiesandclearand
tangibleavenuesforadvancement.Workplacesupportcanalsobegaugedbylookingattheinterpersonalnatureof
relationshipswithonessupervisorandco-workers.
Inthisstudy,weexaminedemployeesperceptionsofwork-
placesupportattwolevelsthatcanimpacttheirlevelsof
satisfaction.First,theparticipantsreportedontheextent
towhichtheirorganizationssupportedtheirtrainingand
development,providedavenuesforpromotion,valuedand
recognizedtheircontributionsatwork,andcreatedasupportive
climateforfulllingmultipleliferoleobligations.Second,
weexaminedtheextenttowhichthewomenengineers
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
37/64
37CHAPTER SIX
receivedsupportfromtheirsupervisorsandco-workers.
Wealsoexaminedtwosetsofworkplacerelatedbarriersthat
couldloweranengineerssatisfactionwithherjoband/or
career.Therstsetoffactorstappedintotheperceptionsof
incivilityintheworkplacethatwascapturedbytheextentto
whichsupervisors,seniormanagers,andco-workerstreated
womeninacondescending,patronizing,ordiscourteous
manner.Wealsodirectlyassessedtheextenttowhichsupervisors
andco-workersengagedinunderminingbehaviorsatwork
suchasinsultingwomen,talkingbadlyaboutthembehind
theirbacks,belittlingthemortheirideas,makingthem
feelincompetent,and/ortalkingdowntothem.Thesecond
setoffactorsbelievedtolowersatisfactionfocusedonmore
role-levelbarrierssuchastheextenttowhichwomen
engineerslackedclarityintheirroles,experiencedcontradictory
andconictingworkrequestsandrequirements,andfelt
overburdenedwithexcessiveworkresponsibilitieswithout
commensurateresources.
DO PERSONAL FACTORS PREDICT WOMENENGINEERS CAREER AND JOB SATISFACTION?
Weexaminedfactorsrelatedtowomenengineerssatisfaction
withtheircurrentjobandwiththeoverallcareerofengineering
ingeneral.Itisimportanttoexamineboth,becausewhilea
womanmightbedissatisedwithhercurrentjob,shemay
besatisedwiththeprofessionofengineering.Arrivingat
conclusionsaboutawomanengineersjobsatisfactionwould
therefore,onlycapturepartofthefactorsthatinuenceher
overallsatisfactionofbeinganengineerinanengineering
profession.
Therefore,theanswertotheabovequestionisyes,personal
factors,suchaslevelsofself-condenceinvariousareas,
domakeadifferenceinengineerssatisfactionwiththeir
careersandjobs.Currentwomenengineerswhopossessed
agreatdealofself-condenceintheirabilitiestonavigate
theirorganizationspoliticallandscapeandjugglemultipleliferolesweremostlikelytoexpresssatisfactionwiththeir
careersaswellastheirjobs.Further,engineerswhoexpected
positiveoutcomestoresultfromtheireffortstonavigate
theorganizationalclimateatworkwerealsomostlikelyto
expresssatisfactionwiththeirjobsandcareers.Interestingly,
themorewomenengineersexpectedpositiveresultsfrom
theireffortstobalancemultipleliferoles,thelesssatised
theywerewiththeirjobsandcareers.Itmaybethatexpecting
tobalancemultipleliferolesleadstolesssatisfactioninjust
oneofthoseroles.
DO BARRIERS AT WORK PREDICT WOMEN
ENGINEERS CAREER AND JOB SATISFACTION?
Womenwhoarecurrentlyworkinginengineeringhavetofaceandcontendwithavarietyofbarriersthatdampentheir
satisfactionwiththeirjobsandcareers.Oneofthebiggest
barriersthatcurrentengineersfacedatworkwasthelackof
clarityinthegoals,objectives,andresponsibilitiesintheir
workrolesandtheserole-relatedbarrierswererelatedtoa
diminishedsenseofsatisfactionwiththeirjobsandcareers.
Researchhasshownthatlackofclarityregardingjobrolesand
expectationscancreatetensionandstressforemployees
andnegativelyaffecttheirsatisfaction (Schaubroeck,Ganster,
Sime,&Ditman,1993).Currentengineerswhoreportedbeing
givenexcessiveworkloadwithoutcommensurateresources
alsoexperiencedlowlevelsofsatisfactionwiththeirjobs(butnottheircareers).Surprisingly,womenwhofacedconflict-
ingandoftenincompatibleworkrequestsfromtheir
supervisorsandco-workersdidnotreportlowerlevelsof
careersatisfaction,presumablybecausetheyeitherexpected
thisandknewhowtodealwithit,orbecausetheyviewedit
asaworkchallengethatextendedtheirlearning.
Inadditiontothework-rolerelatedbarriers,currentwomen
engineerswhoreportedworkinginanenvironmentthat
belittledandtreatedwomeninacondescending,patron-
izingmanner,andweresystematicallyunderminedby
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
38/64
38 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
theirsupervisorsandco-workersfeltleastsatisedwith
theirjobs.Wefoundcurrentengineerscareersatisfaction
wasmostdiminishedwhentheyexperiencedtheseuncivil
andunderminingbehaviorsfromtheirsupervisorsrather
thantheirco-workers.
Inessence,ofthedifferenttypesofworkplacebarriersthat
weexamined,thetwothatmostnegativelyinuenced
womenssatisfactionlevelswerework-roleuncertaintyand
aworkenvironmentthatconsistentlyunderminedthem.
DOES SUPPORT AT WORK PREDICT WOMEN
ENGINEERS CAREER AND JOB SATISFACTION?
Womenalsoreportedthattherewereseveralsupportive
elementsintheirworkplacethatinuencedhowsatis-
edtheyfeltwiththeirjobsandcareers.Forwomenwho
werecurrentlyworkinginengineering,fourdifferenttypes
ofsupportmadeadifferencetotheirsatisfactionatwork:
rst,themostsatisedwomenworkedforcompaniesthat
providedthemwithtangibletraininganddevelopmentop-
portunitiesbyassigningthemtoprojectsthathelpedthem
developandstrengthennewskills,givingthemchallenging
assignments,andinvestingintheirformaltrainingand
development.Second,womenengineerswhoperceivedthat
theirco-workersandsupervisorsweresupportiveofthem
feltmostsatisedwiththeirjobs.Third,womenengineers
whoworkedforcompaniesthatvaluedandrecognized
theircontributionsandcaredabouttheirwell-beingwere
mostsatisedwiththeirjobs.Finally,theresultsrevealed
thatwomenengineerswhoworkedincompaniesthat
regularlyexpectedtheiremployeestoworkmorethan50
hoursaweek,totakeworkhomeatnightand/orweekends,
andregularlyputtheirjobsbeforetheirfamiliesespecially
tobeconsideredfavorablybytopmanagementwereleast
satisedwiththeirjobs.
Womenengineerswhoreportedtobethemostsatisedwith
thecareersworkedincompaniesthatnotonlyvaluedand
recognizedtheircontributionsbutalsoinvestedsubstantially
intheirtrainingandprofessionaldevelopment.Thesewomen
alsoreceivedsubstantialsupportfromtheirfamilyand
friendswhichelevatedtheirlevelsofcareersatisfaction.
Insum,supportatworkmattersinshapingcurrentwomen
engineersfeelingsofsatisfactionwiththeirjobsandcareers.
Specifically,tangiblesupportintermsoftrainingand
developmentopportunities,supportiveco-workersandsuper-
visors,andcompaniesthatallowemployeestimetobalance
theirmultipleliferoles,allmakeforsatisedemployees.
CONCLUSION:
Currentwomenengineerscareersuccesswasshapedby
bothpositiveandnegativeexperiencesatwork.Positive
experienceswerecapturedbythetypeandamountof
supportreceivedatworkandnegativeexperienceswere
reectedintherole-relatedpressuresandundermining
behaviorsencounteredatwork.
Avarietyofpersonalandorganizationalfactorsliebehindcurrentwomenengineerscareersuccess.Forexample,current
womenengineerswhoexpressedhighlevelsofsatisfaction
withtheircareerswerelikelytohavereceivedample
opportunitiesfortraininganddevelopment,feltsupported
bytheirsupervisors,co-workers,andtheirorganizations
andperceivedavenuesforfurtheradvancementwithinthe
company.Thesewomenhadclear,identiablesetoftask
goals,responsibilities,andexpectationstoworkwith;they
alsofeltcondentintheirabilitiestonavigatethepolitical
landscapeintheircompaniesandmanagemultipleliferole
responsibilities.Furthermore,successfulwomenengineers
reportedworkingincompaniesthatsupportedtheirefforts
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
39/64
39CHAPTER SIX
tobalancetheirwork-liferesponsibilities.
Thereisadifferentsidetothispictureaswellonethat
highlightsthechallengesandnegativeexperiencesatwork
thathaveexercisedastronginuenceonshapingthese
womensperceptionsofsubjectivecareersuccess.Prominent
amongthesefactorswastheexperienceofincivilityatwork
thatwasreectedintheextenttowhichthesupervisors,
seniormanagers,andco-workersgenerallytreatedwomen
inacondescending,patronizing,ordiscourteousmanner
andspecicallyunderminedtheireffortsatbeingsuccessful
atwork.Thisndingisinlinewithotherrecentreportsthat
describehowwomeninSTEMcareersoftenfacebarriersto
theircareersuccessintheformofhostility,bias,andlackofrespect.(e.g.,Hewlettetal.,2008;AAUW,2010).
Comparison o Women EngineersCurrently Working in Engineering with
Women Engineers Who Let Less Than5 Years Ago
DID THE TWO GROUPS OF WOMEN
ENGINEERS DIFFER ON PERSONAL FACTORS?
Wefoundthatwomencurrentlyworkinginengineeringdid
notdifferfromwomenengineerswholeftlessthan5years
agoonanyofthepersonalfactorsrelatedtoself-condence
andtheirexpectationsfromperformingengineeringtasks,
balancingmultipleroles,ornavigatingpoliticalclimateat
work.Theyalsodidnotdifferintheirinterests.
DID PERSONAL FACTORS INFLUENCE JOB AND
CAREER SATISFACTION OF WOMEN WHO LEFT
ENGINEERING WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS?
Forwomenwhohadleftengineeringwithinthepastveyears,
thosewhowereself-condentinperformingengineering
tasksandexpectedpositiveresultstoemergefromthese
effortsfeltmostsatisedwiththeircareers.Eventhough
theywerenolongerworkinginengineering,womenwho
expectedpositiveoutcomesfromsuccessfullyperforming
theirengineeringtasksfeltagreatdealofsatisfactionwith
theirjobs.Forthisgroupofwomen,whatmatteredmost
fortheirjobsatisfactionwasalsotheextenttowhichthey
feltcondentaboutnavigatingthepoliticalclimateintheir
organizationsandmanagingmultiplelife-roles.Thegreater
theircondence,themoresatisedtheyfeltwiththeirjobs.
However,themorethesewomenexpectedfrombalancing
multipleliferolesandmanagingtheorganizationaldynamics,thelesssatisedtheyfeltwiththeirjobs.Itispossiblethat
whilewomenwerehighlyself-condentoftheirabilitiesto
successfullypursuethesevarioustasks,theydidntexpecta
lotofpositiveoutcomestoemergefromtheseeffortswhich
reectedintheirdampenedlevelsofjobandcareersatisfaction.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
40/64
40 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
DID THE TWO GROUPS DIFFER IN THEIR
PERCEPTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL
BARRIERS AND SUPPORTS?
Wefoundthatcurrentengineersweresignicantlymorelikely
thanwomenwholeftengineeringtoperceiveopportunities
fortraininganddevelopmentthatwouldhelpthemadvance
tothenextlevel.Interestingly,thecurrentengineersreported
fewerwork-lifebenetsavailabletothem,butweresignicantly
morelikelytohaveusedthosebenets.Currentengineers
weresignicantlymorelikelytoreportbothsupervisorand
co-workersupport,andthattheclimatewassupportiveof
theirneedtobalanceworkandnon-workroles.Thetwo
groupsdidnotdifferinhavingamentor;however,only
aboutaquarterofeachgroupreportedhavingamentor.We
foundthatwomenwholeftengineeringreportedexperiencing
moreunderminingbehaviorsfromtheirsupervisors,more
incivilityintheirworkplaces(beingtalkedover,patronized,
ortalkedaboutbehindtheirbacks),andindicatedthat
theorganizationaltimedemands,toworklonghours,onweekendsandevenings,wereexcessive.
JOB SATISFACTION OF WOMEN WHO LEFT
ENGINEERING WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS?
Yes,theydid.Ascomparedtotheircolleagueswhoare
currentlyworkinginengineering,womenwholeftengineering
withinthepastveyearsreportedaverysimilarsetofwork
androlehindrancesthatdiminishedtheirlevelsofjob
andcareersatisfaction.Thisgroupofwomenwhoexperi-
encedunderminingbehaviorsfromtheirsupervisorswere
leastsatisedwiththeircareers.Lackofclarityinonesjob
rolesandexpectationscoupledwithexcessiveworkload
(andfewresources)alsomadethemfeeldissatisedwiththeirjobsandcareers.
DID SUPPORT AT WORK PREDICT CAREER AND
JOB SATISFACTION OF WOMEN WHO LEFT
ENGINEERING WITHIN THE PAST 5 YEARS?
Yes,itdid.Ascomparedtotheircolleagueswhoarecurrently
workinginengineering,womenwholeftengineeringin
thelastveyearsreportedsimilarsupportiveelements
thatmadethemfeelsatisedwiththeirjobs.Mostnotably,
womenwhoworkedforcompaniesthatvaluedtheircon-
tributionsandreceivedsubstantialtraininganddevelop-mentopportunitiesweremostsatisedwiththeirjobs.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
41/64
41
7:WOMEN CURRENTLY
WORKING INENGINEERING:HOW ARE THEY
MANAGINGTHEIRMULTIPLELIFE ROLES?
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
42/64
42 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
Workandfamilyrolesareintimatelyandinextricably
connectedinmostpeopleslives.Whathappensinones
jobandcareeraffectsonespersonalandfamilylife.For
example,agood(orabad)dayatworkmayaffectones
moodwheninteractingwithfamilyandfriendsafterwork.
Thethingsthathappeninonespersonallifethefriend-shipsandfamilyresponsibilitiesalsoaffectonesjobor
career.Forexample,aspouses(orapartners)careermay
preventonefromacceptingarelocationoffer.Giventhe
multiple,competing,andoftensimultaneousdemandsand
pressuresthatemployeesface,frictionbetweentheirwork-
familyrolesisinevitable.Indeed,somereportsestimatethat
95%ofAmericanworkersexperiencework-familyconict
(Williams&Boushey,2010).
Work-familyconictposesasignicantsourceofstress
inthelivesofmanyemployeesandhasbeenknownto
affectavarietyofimportantpersonalandorganizational
outcomessuchasemployeewell-being,physicalhealth,
loyalty,performance,jobsatisfaction,absenteeism,turnover
intentions,andwithdrawalfromtheorganizationandthe
profession.Thereisacompellingneedtounderstandwork-
familyconictamongengineersbecausetheprofession
isalreadyfacingashortageoftalentedengineers(2010).
Indeed,asurveyofmaleandfemalescientistsrevealedthat
womenwhoexperiencedhighlevelsofwork-familyconict
werelesslikelytoberetainedbytheiremployerscomparedto
theirmalecolleagues(NationalScienceBoard,S&EIndicators,
2004).However,despitedecadesofresearchonwork-family
conictamongdifferentprofessionalgroupsofemployees,thereisinadequateunderstandingofdynamicsofwork-family
conictamongengineers.Itisthereforeimperativetotake
stepstowardllinganimportantgapinourunderstanding.
Althoughbeingengagedinmultipleroleshaswell-
documentedsalutaryeffectsonpeopleslivesintermsof
improvedwellbeing,greatercreativity,andsocialsupport,in
thischapter,wedescribethewomenengineersexperienceof
work-familyconict,thedifferentpersonalandorganizational
factorsthatprovokeandalleviateit.Indeed,thisisthe
rststudyofitskindtoexclusivelyfocusonengineersasa
distinctclassofprofessionalemployeesandnotinthesamecategoryasscientistsandengineers.
Inthisstudy,weadoptedabroaddenitionofnon-work
rolestoincludeanykindofcare-givingresponsibilities,
involvementinpersonalrelationships,orengagementin
othernon-workactivities.Wedenedwork-homeconict
astheextenttowhichworkandhomeresponsibilities
interferewithoneanother,i.e.,theextenttowhichemployees
experiencemutuallyincompatibledemandsandpressures
fromoneswork(orhome)rolesuchthatitinterfereswith
effectiveparticipationinthehome(orwork)role.Workcan
interferewiththefulllmentofoneshome-relatedobligations
(work-to-familyconict/interference)orviceversa,family/
homeresponsibilitiescaninterferewiththefulllment
ofworktasks(family-to-workconict/interference).Inadditiontolookingatbothdirectionsofwork-family
conictmentionedabove,thisstudyalsoexaminedattwo
formsofwork-familyconict.Work-familyconictcan
beinstigatedwhenexcessivetimedemandsinoneroledo
notallowonetofullltheresponsibilitiesassociatedwith
theotherrole,(time-basedconict)orwhenthestrainand
pressuresassociatedwithaparticularrolemakeitdifcult
fortheindividualstoparticipateintheotherrole(strain-
basedconict).Inthisstudy,weaggregatedtheresponsesto
timeandstrain-baseddemandsandlookedatthecombined
effectsofbothformsofconict.
DO PERSONAL FACTORS PREDICT WOMEN
ENGINEERS WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT?
Yes,theydoandsomefactorsmorethantheothers.
Predictably,womenwithchildcareresponsibilities
experiencedgreaterinterferencebetweentheirworkand
non-workrolesthanthosewithoutsuchresponsibilities;for
thisgroup,theextenttowhichtheirhomelifeinterferedwith
theirworkrolewasgreaterthantheotherwayaround.Only
2%ofoursamplereportedprovidingcarefordependents
otherthantheirchildren.Therewerenodifferencesinwork-
familyconictbyrace.Comparedtobaby-boomersor
GenerationX-ers,millennialwomenreportedlowestlevelso
interferenceoriginatingfromtheirnon-workresponsibilities
thatadverselyaffectedtheirparticipationintheworkrole.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
43/64
43CHAPTER SEVEN
Giventhatwomenareengagedinmultipleliferoles,the
questionthatarisesishowcondentaretheyinmanaging
thesemultiplerolesandhowtheirexpectationsofmanaging
theserolesaffecttheirexperienceofwork-familyconict.We
examinedtheextenttowhichwomensself-condencein
performingengineeringtasks,managingmultipleroles,andnavigatingtheorganizationaldynamicsmadeadiffer-
enceintheirexperienceofwork-familyconict.Thegreater
theirself-condenceinmanagingmultipleroles,theless
frictiontheyexperiencedbetweentheirworkandnon-work
roles.Unexpectedly,womenwithhighlevelsofcondence
inperformingengineeringtasksandnavigatingpolitical
landscapereportedhighlevelsofworkinterferingwiththeir
familyrole.Onepossibleexplanationforthiscounterintuitive
ndingcouldbethathighlevelsofself-condenceinaccom-
plishingdifferenttasksmayservetoattractmoreworktheir
waywhichwouldpreventthemfromfullyparticipatingin
theirfamilyrole.Indeed,ourresultsonwork-roleoverloadandself-condencesupportthislineofreasoning.
Surprisingly,womenwhoexpectedpositiveoutcomesfrom
managingmultiplerolesdidnotseeacommensuratedecrease
inlevelsofwork-familyconict.Instead,themorethat
theyexpectedfrombalancingtheirmultipleroles,themore
work-familyconicttheyexperienced.Perhaps,theanticipated
benetsofmanagingmultiplerolesarenotenoughtoout-
weightherealityofjugglingmultiple,competingdemands.
However,theperceivedbenetsofsuccessfullynavigating
theorganizationallandscapewereassociatedwithlower
levelsofworkinterferencewithfamily.
Overall,self-condenceinmanagingmultipleroles
emergedasoneofthemostsalientfactorsthatexplained
theexperienceofwork-familyconictamongthisgroupof
womenengineers.Engineerswiththehighestlevelsof
self-condenceinmanagingmultipleroleswerelikelyto
experiencelowestlevelsofwork-familyconict.Interest-
ingly,theseself-condencebeliefswerenotalwaysaligned
withtheanticipatedbenetsfromperformingthisbalanc-
ingact;womenwhoanticipatedpositiveoutcomestoresult
frombalancingtheirmultiplerolesdidnotexperience
lowerlevelsofwork-familyconict.
DO BARRIERS AT WORK EXACERBATE WOMEN
ENGINEERS WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT?
Therearecertainbarriersthatwomenengineersexperience
atworkthatareassociatedwithheightenedlevelsofwork-
familyconict.Prominentamongthesebarriersiswomens
experienceofexcessiveworkloadwithoutcommensurate
resources.Suchroleoverloadheightenedthefriction
betweenengineersworkandnon-workroles.Inaddition,
experiencingconictingandsometimesincompatiblework
demandsalsocontributedtothefrictionbetweenworkand
non-workroles.Researchhasshownthatrolepressuresthat
involveextensivetimecommitmentsorproduceexcessive
strainexacerbatethedegreeofwork-familyconict.We
alsofoundthatwomenengineerswhoreportedworkingin
environmentswherewomenweretreatedinapatronizing,
condescending,andrudemannerbythesupervisors,senior
managers,andothercolleaguesindicatedthattheirworkrolepreventedthemfromeffectivelyfulllingtheirnon-work
commitments,therebyexacerbatingtheexperienceofwork-
familyconict.
Overall,rolerelatedstressesandpressuresemergedasone
ofthebiggestinuencesonwomenengineersexperienceof
work-familyconict.Inaddition,encounteringanuncivil
workenvironmentcontributedtoheightenedlevelsofstress
betweenworkandnon-workrolesaswell.
-
8/3/2019 Women in Engineering 2011
44/64
44 WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 2011 REPORT
DOES SUPPORT AT WORK REDUCE THE
OCCURRENCE OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT?
Theanswerisitdepends.Certainsupportiveaspectsof
onesworkenvironmentenablewomenengineerstobetter
fullltheirworkandnon-workroleresponsibilitiesthereby
reducingtheoccurrenceofwork-familyconict,whereas,there
werecertainsupportstructuresthatproducedjusttheopposite,
unintendedeffect.Whathelpstoreducetheoccurrenceof
work-to-familyconict?Becauseourpurposewastounder-
standwhatreduceswork-familyconict,weconsidereda
varietyofwork-familyinitiativesattheorganizationallevel
aswellasindividualsupportmechanismsthatcouldreduce
thisimportantstressorinthelivesoftheengineers.
Work-familyinitiativeshavebeentraditionallydenedas
deliberateorganizationalchangesinpolicies,practices,or
thetargetculturetoreduceworkfamilyconictand/or
supportemployeeslivesoutsideofwork (Kellyetal.,2008).
Weexaminedwhetherformalwork-lifepolicies(suchas
part-timework,job-sharing,paidandunpaidleavesof
absence,andexibleworkarrangements)providedto
employeeshelpstoreducework-familyconict.Research
hasshownthatitisnotthemereavailabilityofwork-family
initiatives,buttheiractualusethatmakesadifferenceinthe
occurrenceofwork-familyconict.Hence,wealsoexamined
theextenttowhichengineersuseddifferentwork-lifepoli-
ciesaffectedtheirexperienceofwork-familyconict.We
alsotappedintoengineersperceptionsofhowsupportivetheirorganizationalculturewastowardtheirneedfor
work-familybalance.Specically,weexaminedtheextentto
whichsupervisorsandmanagersareaccommodatingand
responsivetoemployeesnon-workresponsibilitiesandthe
extenttowhichtheorganizationimposestimedemandsand
constraintsthatmakefulllmentofnon-workobligations
difcult.Finally,wealsoassessedthewhethertheextentto
whichtheorganizationvaluedandrecognizedtheengi-
neerscontributionstothecompanyandcaredabouttheir
well-being,loweredtheoccurrenceofwork-familyconict.
Attheindividuallevel,weassessedwhetherhavingamen-
torandreceivingsupportfromsupervisors,colleagues,andfriendsandfamilycanoffsettheoccurrenceofconict.
Ourresultsrevealedthreekeysupportsthatreducedthe
occurrenceofoneformofwork-familyconictspecically,
theextenttowhichworkinterferedwithfamilylife.First,
theextenttowhichtheorganizationvaluedandrecognized
theengineerscontributionstothecompanyandcaredabout
theirwell-beingdidindeedlowertheextenttowhichtheir
worktasksinterferedwiththeirinvolvementinnon-work
roles.Second,womenengineerswhoreportedworkingfor
organizationsthatwerecharacterizedbyfamilysupportive
workculturestendedtoexperiencelessfrictionbetween
theirworkresponsibilitiesandfamilycommitments.
Specically,themoreresponsiveandaccommodatingthe
managersweretoengineersnon-workconcerns,thelessconicttheyexperienced.Further,thelesstheorganization
imposedexcessivetimedemands,especiallydemandsthat
requiredface-timeandweekendandeveningwork,theless
conictthesewomenexperiencedinfulllingtheirnon-
workresponsibilities.Neitherhavingamentornorhaving
supportivecolleagues,supervisor,friendsandfamily,made
anydifferencetothedegreetowhichworkroleinterfered
withthenon-workrole.
Adifferentsetofndingsemergedwhenweexamined
thequestionwhatreducestheextenttowhichfamily
responsibilitiesinterferewithworkparticipation?Whereas
noneoftheindividualsourcesofsupportmadeadifference
towork-to-familyconict,wefoundthatwomenwhocould
relyonandelicitsupportfromfamilyandfriendswereleast
likelytoreportthattheirnon-workresponsibilitiesinterfered
withtheirinvolvementatwork.However,thatwastheonly
thingthatreducedfamily-to-workinterference.Contraryto
expectations,noneofthework-familyinitiativeswhether
intheformofavailabilityand/oruseofwork-lifepolicies
orthesupportivenessoforganizationalculturereduced
theextenttowhichnon-workcommitmentsinterferedwith
fulllmentofworkresponsibilities.Infact,theactualuse
ofwork-lifebenetpoliciessubstantiallyincreasedtheleveloffamily-to-workconict.Therehavebeensimilarresults
reportedamongothergroupsofprofessionalemployees
(cf.,Kell