Engineering A Woman: Marketing Opportunities and Challenges in India

Abstract

Purpose and Motivation: Engineeringplays a key rolein supportingthe growth anddevelopmentof a country'seconomy as wellas in improving thequality of life forcitizens.Most of developed countries witnessed economic growth with the contribution of women in engineering field. In developing countries like India women remainedunder-utilized resource.Women in engineering are probably the single best investment that can be made in the developing world.There is clearly room for improvementnot only in recruitingwomen into engineering, but also in retaining and promotingthose women who wish and do enter the profession. This study was designed to investigate a perception anddetermination of undergraduate womentowards accessing Engineering Education.The study has highlighted women's perceptions and experienceson accessing engineering education through institute's Marketing Mix strategies which enables women to take up strategic positions to enjoy success in engineering education and career. Findings of this study revealed that women students in engineering are better satisfied and act of referring services/program to others is higher than men students in terms of numbers for a particular set of marketing mix applied to gender.Research Methodology:A qualitative research survey through a structured questionnaire for the students who arestudying or have recently completed their engineering educationfrom reputed engineering institutes affiliated to the North MaharashtraUniversity, Jalgaon was conducted.Findings:The study discloseswomen's approach to engineering education in terms of marketing mix; program, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process. Women tended to rate most the marketing criteria as having a higher level of importance than men.Women needed morecommunalsupport while making decision making of selection of engineering education.Research Limitations:The survey is delimited to the engineering education belonging to North Maharashtra University,Jalgaon and Khandesh region, a rural part of India.Practical Implications:Findings of the studywill be useful for the institutes and direct and indirect service providers of engineering education in developing a communication program and should be utilized and integrated into all aspects of the marketing program to attract women in engineering.

Merging Design Thinking into Translational Research in a Biomedical Engineering Laboratory (DT-TRBEL) Course

“…Although scholars have pointed out the underrepresentation of women in the field (or career) of STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, mathematics) or learning with such an engineering subject similar to the DT-TRBEL course, studies have proven that female learners could outlearn their male peers, but less could retain their academic major or career in STEM [43][44][45]. The reasons remain complex due to social justice, political and economic background, and beyond [46]. In some social contexts, female individuals may experience different values from their society, which may cultivate an atmosphere of decreasing confidence, job expectation, encouragement for pursuing STEM careers, etc.…”