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M.A. / Women engineers operating in a male-dominated environment face many challenges and are critical to retain in South Africa’s developing economy. The main aim of this research study was to determine the strategies that women engineers use in negotiating their work identity. The strategies were identified by using the Conceptual Model of Engineers’ Identities as a framework to develop an understanding of women engineers’ identity work. A qualitative method was employed to gather the data for this study. The research design that determined how the data would be analysed was a qualitative survey. This study consisted of ten research participants working in different organisations situated in Gauteng and Pretoria, South Africa...

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. / Open access. Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-158). Print copy also available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Thomas A. Leemon. Dissertation Committee: Barbara Spencer. Bibliography: leaves 129-131.

It is no surprise that there is a shortage of women engineers. The reasons for the shortage have been researched and discussed in myriad papers, and suggestions for improvement continue to evolve. However, there are few studies that have specifically identified the positive aspects that attract women to engineering and keep them actively engaged in the field. This paper examines how women engineers view their education, their work, and their motivation to remain in the field. A qualitative research design was used to understand the motivation and adaptability factors women use to support their decision to major in engineering and stay in the engineering profession. Women engineers were interviewed using broad questions about motivation and adaptability. Interviews were transcribed and coded, looking for common threads of factors that suggest not only why women engineers persist in the field, but also how they thrive. Findings focus on the experiences, insights, and meaning of women interviewed. A grounded theory approach was used to describe the success factors found in practicing women engineers. The study found categories of attraction to the field, learning environment, motivation and adaptability. Sub-categories of motivation are intrinsic motivational factors such as the desire to make a difference, as well as extrinsic factors such as having an income that allows the kind of lifestyle that supports the family. Women engineers are comfortable with and enjoy working with male peers and when barriers arise, women learn to adapt in the male dominated field. Adaptability was indicated in areas of gender, culture, and communication. Women found strength in the ability to ‘read’ their clients, and provide insight to their teams. Sufficient knowledge from the field advances theory and offers strategies to programs for administrators and faculty of schools of engineering as well as engineering firms, who have interest in recruitment, and retention of female students. Future research includes expanding the research to other areas of the United States, and improving engineering education pedagogy with more active and experiential learning.

The following research used data from the SSE to determine whether socialization or discrimination can explain the lower status of female engineers, compared to men. It was learned that female engineers with children are as committed to their careers as childless female engineers. Moreover, there is no difference in income or job status between these two groups. There is also no significant difference in income between male and female engineers when controlling for employment status, degree, job status and experience. However, female engineers are not found in management positions as often as their male colleagues, even after controlling for experience. This lower job status, in turn, affects the women's incomes. A reason for the lower status of female engineers is likely due to engineering being very male-dominated. No such difference in job status exists in the field of computer science, where the proportion of women is much higher.

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This study analyzes the under-representation of women in engineering occupations and investigates different types of discrimination that drive women from engineering careers. A male/female interaction continuum created by New Dynamics Consulting is introduced to provide a visual representation of the range of behaviors exhibited by both men and women. The continuum shows a progressive path that describes a range of non-collaborative to collaborative behaviors which begin with dominant and subordinate stereotypes and transitions to mutual colleagueship between the genders. By understanding how an organization falls on the continuum, corrective actions may be established for individuals and groups in an effort to modify and eliminate the behaviors that do not support colleagueship and that contribute to the attrition of women engineers. The national gender wage gap between men and women is analyzed and further broken down into its main contributors and is offered as a metric to be used to determine the success of eliminating inherent gender discrimination. A root cause is then presented based on men’s core beliefs and attitudes towards women in the technical workplace. Suggested corrective actions are itemized to prevent extensive litigation such as the nation’s largest class action gender discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart. / text

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