Women: Their Underrepresentation and Career Differentials in Science and Engineering Proceedings of a Conference (1987) / Chapter Skim
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WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE: AN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE: AN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Pages 59-98
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From page 59... ...
Most of the larger traditional fields continue to have the lowest percentage of women: aeronautical, agricultural, civil, electrical, marine, mechanical, nuclear, and petroleum engineering. The exceptions are chemical, ceramic, industrial, materials, and metallurgical engineering, where participation rates for women are significantly higher but still below parity.
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From page 60... ...
SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics, Earned Degrees Con60
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From page 61... ...
l97l-l983 Industrial Mechanical Metallurgical Mining TOTAL* l5,935 l94 l.22 40,734 295 .72 2,687 48 l.79 l,ll5 l0 .90 220,704 2,97l l.35 2,24l 87 3.88 6,84l l47 2.l4 35l 23 6.55 33l 38,774 l,3l7 3.40 8 2.4l 2,240 l43 6.38 7,703 235 350 2l 6.00 404 9 2.22 40,936 2,022 4.93 3.05 2,7l2 323 ll.9l 8,924 466 5.22 420 44 509 22 4.32 47,222 3,479 7.37 l0.48 2,804 428 l5.26 l0,l7l 603 5.93 503 8l l6.l0 600 35 5.83 53,445 4,880 9.l3 3,2l7 545 l6.94 ll,863 882 7.43 585 l00 l7.09 682 5l 7.48 69,265 6,438 9.29 3,833 756 l9.72 l3,329 l,l36 8.52 603 ll6 l9.24 750 6l 8.l3 75,000 7,699 l0.27 3,992 943 23.62 l3,922 l,220 8.76 592 98 l6.55 662 48 7.25 92,989 9,98l l0.73 3,748 987 26.33 l5,675 l,443 9.2l 645 ll7 l8.l4 597 44 7.37 89,l99 l0,95l l3.28 77,642 4,555 325,326 6,874 2.ll l6,297 707 4.34 8,398 292 l,535,088 52,974 3.45 5.87 3.48 ferred series, Washington, D.C.: U.S.
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From page 62... ...
Degrees Awarded to Women, 1985 Field 1st Year 4th Year Total Degrees Aeronautical 11.81 8.28 10.26 8.2 Agricultural 7.89 11.97 10.65 9.5 Architectural 18.20 20.62 19.37 15.0 aioengineering 38.34 32.78 34.39 28.7 Ceramic 26.37 26.73 27.53 23.3 Chemical 30.54 25.22 27.52 26.0 Civil 14.14 12.80 13.90 12.8 Computer 24.25 22.50 22.70 22.2 Electrical 12.60 12.32 12.76 10.8 Engineering science 16.48 16.74 17.64 18.0 Environmental 19.74 22.33 22.49 25.0 General 17.71 19.02 18.28 14.5 Industrial 30.24 27.86 30.34 28.2 Marine 11.80 9.40 9.57 6.3 Materials & Metallurgical 18.90 22.20 22.16 23.6 Mechanical 10.49 10.69 11.45 10.6 Mining 19.61 16.93 17.44 14.3 Nuclear 12.64 9.67 11.04 11.7 Other 45.00 22.67 38.91 27.3 Petroleum 14.60 11.16 12.16 11.7 Pre-engineering 17.47 18.51 17.88 __ Systems 24.14 28.59 27.30 37.6 TOTAL 16.50 14.50 16.00 14.7 SOURCE: See Table 6.
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From page 64... ...
Office of Education, l970-l983. Factors Influencing Initial Enrollments The underrepresentation of women in selected engineering and science fields has been central to a large number of studies, most of which have focused on identifying factors associated with gender differences by using aggregate data, surveys, and correlational studies.
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From page 65... ...
It should be noted that college-bound women and men reported virtually the same grades in math and physical science, both in l97l and in l985. College Board Scores Unfortunately, these changes in math and science preparation have not affected college admission test scores, which have declined in the past two decades.
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From page 67... ...
(Pallas and Alexander, l983: l65, l80) The general consensus is that these gender differences in college admission math test scores can be largely accounted for by the differences in the amount of mathematics, physical science, and computer programming courses that high school and college-bound women take compared to their male peers.
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SOURCE: Educational Testing Service National College-Bound Seniors, i l985.
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From page 69... ...
2.9l Princeton, N.J.: Admissions Testing Program, The College Board, l97l69
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From page 70... ...
Armstrong (l986) reviewed the current literature and found gender differences in computer access, usage, and interest: in order to develop a background in computer programming, students need access to computers.
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. At the precollege level, more male students than female students indicated interest in computer programming courses (Becker, l982; Hess and Miura, l985; Fetler, l985)
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If male students tend to possess higher levels of computer background and interest, do they out-perform female students in computer programming courses? In general, research findings indicate that there is no difference between the academic performance of male and female students in computer programming courses, even though computer background differences may be present at the beginning of the course (Armstrong, l986; Armstrong, et al., l986; Campbell and McCabe, l984; Mandinach and Fisher, l985)
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From page 73... ...
Linn and Dalbey (l985:202) summarized their "quasi-experimental" study of various computer-intensive sites by stating that gender differences, not evident in performance, were shown in interest in enrolling in computer courses: "The point where equity seems most central is in securing the participation of females in programming courses." Comprehensive Studies Related to Undergraduate Participation of Women in Science and Engineering A number of studies that provide comprehensive views of the factors influencing the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering have special relevance at the undergraduate level.
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Educational experiments indicate that nontraditional approaches to the teaching of both physics and introductory computer subjects in sex-balanced classes result in their increased appeal to women students. The increased number of women students has helped make engineering schools a more attractive environment for them.
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From page 75... ...
. The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends that, to achieve the full potential that this human resource offers, colleges of engineering, school systems, government, industry, and the engineering profession continue to work to increase the number of qualified women who study for a career in engineering.
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From page 76... ...
Nor is enough known about actual sex differences in science and technology students. what is clear is that sex differences between successful male and female students -- those who enroll -- are often minor.
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From page 77... ...
women do not compete with men for rationed places and become a threat and (b) institutions do not have to reallocate existing resources; • Refusal to accept that "the best man for the job may be a woman"; • Lack of leadership from the professional institutions; • Adverse public image of engineering; • Lack of resources from institutions, government grants, or industry to fund new programs; • Lack of role models or use of them; • Need to educate parents and teachers and bring them into the twentieth century in terms of changing sex roles; • Male-oriented, biased, out-of-date or non-existent career advice, usually also too late to influence or save curricular choices; • Career influence in senior high school is too late (intervention should start in junior high school)
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From page 78... ...
Another general conclusion was that role models appeared to be the most effective component of most of the projects. It was recommended that a mixture of role models, closer in age and accomplishment level to the participants, be utilized in conjunction with inspirational models, successful women at the top of their fields.
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From page 79... ...
While special housing presents many difficulties at large universities, group housing has been shown to increase the retention rate of female engineering majors. Wherever this may be an option, different housing arrangements may be tried.
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From page 80... ...
For women taking advanced mathematics courses in college, special tutorial programs, run by other women, might assist their colleagues. The women interviewed at the University of Kansas expressed their shyness with male tutors and reluctance to ask the teachers for help.
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From page 81... ...
External factors that seemed to lead to the increased enrollment of women in engineering programs during the past decade include the following: • Job market outlook for engineers generally and opportunities and competitive salaries for women in particular, • Industry recruitment of women for engineering positions and industry support of engineering-education programs through funding of scholarships, co-op programs, summer employment, and campus career institutes for prospective students, • A change in the image of engineering as a field now central to public-policy and environmental issues, • A change in society's attitude toward women's roles in the work force and the consequent change of women's attitudes and awareness regarding engineering as a career, • Federal financial-aid programs for students, • Affirmative-action pressure on industry, • High school teachers and counselors encouraging students to acquire academic backgrounds and interests relevant to engineering studies, and • Parental and family influence on the role perceptions of women students and their choices of college or university. The NCHEMS study stressed that these external forces do not operate in isolation, but instead interact synergetically to create both constraints and opportunities.
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From page 82... ...
(l980:l2l-l23) , as influencing increased women's enrollment in engineering programs: • Enrollment declines, which create a new awareness of women as a potential new pool of students, • Recruitment efforts to make high school women aware of opportunities for them in engineering, • Persistent efforts to increase the number of women in engineering programs, • Support from both administrators and faculty, • Designating responsibility for coordinating efforts to attract and support women in engineering programs, • Student organizations that provide social support and professional affiliations for women students in engineering, • Scholarships for incoming and returning women students in engineering, • Retention activities directed to the particular needs of women students, and • Location of the institution.
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From page 83... ...
The large majority of the women entering engineering programs have been good students, and programs for recruiting and supporting them rarely threatened existing resources. The composite picture formed by these case studies shows the institution reacting without resistance to a confluence of environmental forces conducive to the increased enrollment of women in nontraditional programs.
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From page 84... ...
; establishing a grapevine for course and career guidance; "role models," both older students and women faculty; informal recruiting, through contact with current high school students; attitude change, as high school and college faculty and counselors see women succeeding as engineering students; and so on.
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From page 85... ...
330-33l) Critical Mass, Role Models, and Unisex Programs A number of studies and analyses indicate that the socialization process is greatly facilitated if there are a sufficiently large enough proportion and number of students having similar, albeit atypical, characteristics (for example, women, blacks, foreign nationals, or dis85
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From page 86... ...
Role Models. The "role model" factor, a very common element in most programs designed to attract and retain women and minorities in science and engineering, is based on the premise that women can learn from other women "who have made it" or "are making it." Although early role model efforts focused on "stars" (women with unusually high achievement or endurance records)
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From page 87... ...
This section focuses on two comprehensive national studies of engineering retention and one comprehensive institutional data base. Female Engineering Students: Attitudes, Characteristics, Responses to Engineering This study, conducted under a grant from NSF, employed a longitudinal data collection rationale; however, it was funded only for two years and long-range institutional data were limited.
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From page 88... ...
Purdue University's Studies of Engineering and University Retention Purdue University has been monitoring university and engineering retention using longitudinal data bases for more than 25 years. During the last two decades, the university has focused considerable attention on l0-year longitudinal studies of engineering retention (do first-year engineering students persist and eventually graduate in engineering?
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From page 89... ...
Tests of the significance of the differences in the percentages of men versus women who are retained in or graduate from engineering or who are retained in and graduate from the university support the null hypothesis of "no statistically significant differences." This rich data base, which includes samples annually ranking from l,000 to l,500 students who have been followed longitudinally for l0 years, provides the basis for the following observations: • University and engineering retention rates improved significantly during the l970s. • Engineering retention improved significantly due to improved admissions and initial course placement, special programs designed to improve retention, and grade inflation.
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, Purdue University, 1971-1983.
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From page 91... ...
Although considerable efforts have been initiated in recent years to encourage more women to apply for federal and university fellowships and assistantships, National Research Council data indicate that fewer women apply for such assistantships and that the selection process may require further review to insure equitable treatment. The selection process for graduate admissions, financial support, and awards relies primarily on Graduate Record Examination scores, rather than on college and major grade-point index, and the recommendation of male faculty, who may not support equitable treatment for women in science and engineering.
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From page 92... ...
Similarly, an effective retention program might include orientation programs, special courses and seminars, peer tutoring, recognition awards and events, exit interviews, educational and career counselling, cooperative and summer job programs, and student organizations, e.g., Society of Women Engineers. Since the overall plan is to eventually increase the pool of women in science and engineering careers, an effective program at the undergraduate level might also focus on the following: • Employment: invitations to prospective employers, summer internships and cooperative programs, job search and career days, resume preparation, interviewing techniques, job listings, and college placement services.
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From page 93... ...
• To achieve more equitable representation of women in engineering and science, special attention at the undergraduate level should focus on engineering and the physical sciences, the two major areas where women are significantly underrepresented. Within engineering, the disciplines in which women are most underrepresented at the undergraduate level include three of the five largest and well-established disciplines -- mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering -- as well as some of the smaller but significant disciplines including aerospace, nuclear, and petroleum engineering.
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From page 94... ...
l986. Gender Differences in Predicting Academic Performance in Entry-Level College Computer Programming Courses.
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l985. Sex differences on the California statewide assessment of computer literacy.
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l983. Sex differences in microcomputer literacy.
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From page 97... ...
l983. Sex differences in quantitative SAT performance: New evidence on the differential course work hypothesis.
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From page 98... ...
l986a. Professional Women and Minorities.
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