Why Aren't There More Women Engineers?

Meinholdt, Connie; Murray, Susan L.

doi:10.1615/jwomenminorscieneng.v5.i3.30

Cited by 37 publications

(38 citation statements)

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“…Consistent with this possibility, Meinholdt and Murray (1999) found that in a sample composed primarily of engineering and science majors, male students tended to have relatively negative attitudes about women. For example, men were more likely than women to agree with the statement "men make better engineers than women."…”

Section: Perceptions Of Whether Gender Affects Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 79%

Gender and Achievement-Related Beliefs Among Engineering Students

Heyman

Martyna

Bhatia

2002

J Women Minor Scien Eng

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Section: Perceptions Of Whether Gender Affects Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 79%

Gender and Achievement-Related Beliefs Among Engineering Students

Heyman

Martyna

Bhatia

2002

J Women Minor Scien Eng

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“…Hackett et al (1992) examined SME vocational self-efficacy and academic milestones self-efficacy for 197 students and found no significant gender differences for either construct. Meinholdt and Murray's (1999) study was based on Hackett's instrument and found a trend (p Ͻ 0.07) that favored men for academic self-efficacy but no gender differences for vocational selfefficacy. Similarly, in their study of engineering students at predominantly white and at historically black universities, Lent et al (2005) found few large gender differences on self-efficacy and outcomes.…”

Section: E Self-efficacy and Women In Stem Domainsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

Marra

Rodgers

Shen

et al. 2009

J of Engineering Edu

418

354

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As our nation's need for engineering professionals grows, educators and industry leaders are increasingly becoming concerned with how to attract women to this traditionally male career path. Self-efficacy has been shown to be related to positive outcomes in studying and pursuing careers in non-traditional fields. This paper describes the results of two years of engineering self-efficacy data collected from women engineering students at five institutions across the U.S. This study adds to the growing body of self-efficacy literature via its multi-year, multi-institution design and helps to clarify the impact of the engineering curriculum on self-efficacy. Results indicate that while women students show positive progress on some self-efficacy and related subscales, they show a significant decrease on feelings of inclusion from the first to second measurement period and further suggest a relationship between ethnicity and feelings of inclusion. Additionally, correlations show that self-efficacy is related to women students' plans to persist in this predominantly male discipline. Sadker and Sadker, 1994). As our nation's need for engineering professionals grows, educators and industry leaders are focusing their efforts on attracting women to this traditionally male career (Chubin, May, and Babco, 2005). Although self-efficacy has been found to be an important factor in the success of women pursuing a non-traditional career choice such as engineering (Betz, 2001;Blaisdell, 2000;Lapan, Boggs, and Morrill, 1989;Marra, Schuurman, Moore, and Bogue, 2005; Nauta, Epperson, and Kahn, 2003), the exact nature of how the engineering curriculum impacts self-efficacy is unclear. Further, there is currently a lack of studies that track selfefficacy of individuals, as well as a lack of multi-institution studies that would increase generalizability. Given that different institutions likely offer differing levels and types of support, exploring the potential relationship between institution and engineering selfefficacy is an important piece in understanding student satisfaction, achievement, and ultimately, retention in engineering programs. This study begins to address these gaps in the literature.Self-efficacy refers to individuals' beliefs in their capabilities to plan and take the actions required to achieve a particular outcome (Bandura, 1986). Efficacy applies to any situation; it is particularly important in choosing and executing constructive actions in situations that can be barriers to successfully achieving the ultimately desired outcome. In engineering, such a barrier might be negative stereotypes, active discouragement by peers or faculty, or scoring poorly on a calculus exam.This study of self-efficacy is situated in the framework of understanding the constructs that impact the success of women studying engineering. We recognize that other frameworks exist for studying this phenomenon (e.g., career perceptions or skills development); however, we chose self-efficacy for several reasons. Self-efficacy is a concep...

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“…For example, in studies conducted in these countries, undergraduate women in STEM majors often report feelings of isolation, intimidation, and even hostility from male peers as well as male professors, and they often have lower self-confidence in STEM domains than men, despite equal or even higher levels of achievement (e.g., Erwin and Maurutto 1998;Ferreira 2003;Hollenshead et al 1994;Meinholdt and Murray 1999;Warrington and Younger 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roles of Perceived Identity Compatibility and Social Support for Women in a Single-Sex STEM Program at a Co-educational University

et al. 2011

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Single-sex programs have been implemented in a variety of educational settings to help promote greater engagement of women in STEM fields. However, the mechanisms through which single-sex programs increase women's engagement in STEM fields are unclear. Drawing from research in social and health psychology, we examined two theoretically-guided predictors of women's sense of belonging in their STEM majors and belonging at the university: perceived identity compatibility between being a woman and being in a STEM field, and perceived social support. Participants were 65 racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse women enrolled in a single-sex STEM program at a co-educational university in Northeastern United States. Participants completed online surveys before the start of their first year of college, and again at the beginning of their second year of college. Findings from multiple regression analyses support hypotheses that across STEM women's first or transitional year of college, perceived identity compatibility, perceived support from close others, and perceived support from the single-sex program for STEM women were each independently associated with greater sense of belonging in their major. Additionally, perceived identity compatibility and perceived support from the single-sex program were associated with greater sense of belonging at the university. These findings suggest that perceived support from sources such as singlesex programs and perceived compatibility between one's field and being female may sustain women pursuing training in nontraditional fields such as STEM. Continued investigation of these factors may elucidate the impact of single-sex programs and inform interventions to increase the retention of women in STEM.

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Why Aren't There More Women Engineers?

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

Gender and Achievement-Related Beliefs Among Engineering Students

Gender and Achievement-Related Beliefs Among Engineering Students

Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

The Roles of Perceived Identity Compatibility and Social Support for Women in a Single-Sex STEM Program at a Co-educational University

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