Perceptions of a Chilly Climate: Differences in Traditional and Non-traditional Majors for Women

“Girl Power”: Gendered Academic and Workplace Experiences of College Women in Engineering

“…Favoritism and differential treatment also detract from positive experiences that increase persistence and academic success for women, as male and female faculty in science and engineering have been found to favor and be more responsive to male students in comparison to females (Milkman et al 2015;Moss-Racusin et al 2012). Further, reports of bias in the form of sexual harassment from classmates and faculty are all too common for undergraduate women in science and engineering (Morris and Daniel 2008).…”

“…The major difference between staying and leaving has been found to have less to do with the women themselves and more to do with the academic and workplace environments where they attend school and pursue careers (Buse et al 2013;Fouad et al 2016;Hewlett 2008; National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering [NRC/NAE] 2014; Rhoton 2011). Throughout the literature on women's persistence in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, a host of structural and cultural barriers contribute to the high prevalence of gender bias in these fields, with direct implications for women's self-efficacy, experiences, opportunities, and success, particularly in engineering (Buse et al 2013;Haines et al 2001;Sandler 1982, 1984;Morris and Daniel 2008;Sax et al 2015;Xu 2013Xu , 2015Xu , 2017.…”

“…In the present paper, we focus specifically on the gendered academic and workplace experiences of the women in the study using a feminist theory lens. While existing research informs our knowledge of women in engineering academic settings (e.g., Chen and Weko 2009;Eagan et al 2013;Sandler 1982, 1984;Hughes 2010;Litzler and Young 2012;Marra et al 2009;Morris and Daniel 2008;Sheppard et al 2010), and women in engineering workplace settings (e.g., Buse et al 2013;Fouad et al 2016;Hewlett et al 2008;Kahn and Ginther 2015;Wang and Degol 2013), very little research considers the intersection of these two environments on women engineering students' experiences and decisions to continue in the field after college graduation, a critical juncture in field persistence (Amelink and Creamer 2010;Garibay et al 2013;Lichtenstein et al 2009;Winters et al 2012). Further, very few studies focus specifically on women's career-related experiences in internships and co-ops, despite the high prevalence of these field experiences within engineering majors.…”

STEM Aspiration: The Influence of Social Capital and Chilly Climate on Female Community College Students

“…For example, more than half of all females who do enter STEM education leave their major and pursue a different area of study before completing their degree (Seymour & Hewitt, 1997), and the perception of being unwelcome in traditionally male-dominated majors can result from female students being ignored, treated differently, or sexually harassed (Morris & Daniel, 2008). Students at a variety of two-year institutions and four-year institutions took a survey designed to identify the root causes of chilly climate (Pascarella et al, 1997), and the findings indicated that students at the two-year institutions who perceived a chilly climate had negative associations with end of the first-year cognitive development and self-reported gains in academic preparation for a career.…”

Empowering Male Students as Allies for Gender Equity Within an Engineering College

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7] Elements of this chilly climate include both overt and covert behaviors by faculty, administrators, and students (e.g., sexist humor, stereotypical comments about women's abilities), and institutional policies and practices. Direct discrimination can add to this unwelcoming, even hostile, environment.…”