Retaining Women In Engineering

Diversity drives better business results; however, despite decades of effort, women make up only 15% of engineers. Retaining Women in Engineering: The Empowerment of Lean Development approaches the problem of women leaving engineering from a systems-level perspective to change the way engineering is done and level the playing field between men and women. This book utilizes the six principles of Lean Development and draws from the learnings of the field of medicine, recognizing that access to a vast amount of written knowledge is an important part of a physician’s learning process. Using these principles, the book provides leaders with concrete strategies and methods to change the way engineering is done and learning occurs. Integrated within the book are "gray box stories" which describe two different worlds that engineers work in: that of traditional development and that of Lean Development. These stories underscore the way that the gender confidence gap, bias, and stereotypes affect a female engineer’s career. Additionally, the book highlights how the methods of Lean Development strengthen an individual’s ability to control their learning and career, and a leader’s ability to coach others more effectively. Ultimately, this results in more capable teams. Furthermore, not unlike the marine chronometer (a clock) which solved the centuries old challenge of establishing the longitudinal location for a ship at sea, this book finds the "clock" that levels the playing field between men and women. This book will help leaders at every level within an engineering firm, as well as women engineers and managers who want to grow to their full potential, and others who care about gender equity.

Diversity drives better business results; however, despite decades of effort, women make up only 15% of engineers. Retaining Women in Engineering: The Empowerment of Lean Development approaches the problem of women leaving engineering from a systems-level perspective to change the way engineering is done and level the playing field between men and women. This book utilizes the six principles of Lean Development and draws from the learnings of the field of medicine, recognizing that access to a vast amount of written knowledge is an important part of a physician's learning process. Using these principles, the book provides leaders with concrete strategies and methods to change the way engineering is done and learning occurs. Integrated within the book are "gray box stories" which describe two different worlds that engineers work in: that of traditional development and that of Lean Development. These stories underscore the way that the gender confidence gap, bias, and stereotypes affect a female engineer's career. Additionally, the book highlights how the methods of Lean Development strengthen an individual's ability to control their learning and career, and a leader's ability to coach others more effectively. Ultimately, this results in more capable teams. Furthermore, not unlike the marine chronometer (a clock) which solved the centuries old challenge of establishing the longitudinal location for a ship at sea, this book finds the "clock" that levels the playing field between men and women. This book will help leaders at every level within an engineering firm, as well as women engineers and managers who want to grow to their full potential, and others who care about gender equity.

Who are the women who became engineers in the 1970s and 1980s? How have they fared in the most male-dominated profession in America? This is the first book to answer these questions. It explores the backgrounds, family lives, work experiences, and attitudes of engineers in order to explain the unequal patterns of career development for women, who generally hold lower positions and receive fewer promotions than their male counterparts. McIlwee and Robinson synthesize two theoretical approaches frequently used to explain the status of women in the workforce—gender role and structural theories—providing new insights into improving women's careers in traditionally male occupations.

Women in the developed world expect to work in the labour force over the course of their lives. On finishing school more girls are entering universities and undertaking professional training for careers than ever before. Males and females enter many high status professions in roughly equal numbers. However, engineering stands out as a profession that remains obstinately male dominated. Despite efforts to change, little progress has been made in attracting and retaining women in engineering. This book analyses the outcomes of a decade-long investigation into this phenomenon, framed by two questions: Why are there so few women in engineering? And why is this so difficult to change? The study includes data from two major surveys, accounts from female engineers in a range of locations and engineering fields, and case studies of three large engineering corporations. The authors explore the history and politics of several organisations related to women in engineering, and conclude with an analysis of a range of campaigns that have been waged to address the issue of women’s minority status in engineering. Challenging Knowledge, Sex and Power will be of great interest to students of feminist economics, and is also relevant to researchers in women’s studies and engineering education.

The increasing presence of women within engineering programs is one of today's most dramatic developments in higher education. Long before, however, a group of talented and determined women carved out new paths in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. Laura D. Hahn and Angela S. Wolters bring to light the compelling hidden stories of these pioneering figures. When Mary Louisa Page became the College's first female graduate in 1879, she also was the first American woman ever awarded a degree in architecture. Bobbie Johnson's insistence on "a real engineering job" put her on a path to the Apollo and Skylab programs. Grace Wilson, one of the College's first female faculty members, taught and mentored a generation of women. Their stories and many others illuminate the forgotten history of women in engineering. At the same time, the authors offer insights into the experiences of today's women from the College -- a glimpse of a brighter future, one where more women in STEM fields apply their tireless dedication to the innovations that shape a better tomorrow.

Underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields is a problem that has persisted over the past three decades and is most severe at the highest levels of the STEM career path. Although national attention has been directed toward increasing the presence of women in STEM, women continue to leave at critical junctures in STEM training and careers at a higher rate than men. This volume of New Directions for Institutional Research takes a comprehensive look at the status of women in STEM and considers related factors, theoretical perspectives, and innovative tools that have the potential to help scholars understand, study, and improve the experiences of women in STEM fields. This is the 152nd volume of New Directions for Institutional Research. Always timely and comprehensive, New Directions for Institutional Research provides planners and administrators in all types of academic institutions with guidelines in such areas as resource coordination, information analysis, program evaluation, and institutional management.

Women continue to comprise a small minority of students in engineering education and subsequent employment, despite the numerous initiatives over the past 25 years to attract and retain more women in engineering. This book demonstrates the ways in which traditional engineering education has not attracted, supported or retained female students and identifies the issues needing to be addressed in changing engineering education to become more gender inclusive. This innovative and much-needed work also addresses how faculty can incorporate inclusive curriculum within their courses and programs, and provides a range of exemplars of good practice in gender inclusive engineering education that will be immediately useful to faculty who teach engineering students.