Is Sexism Driving Women Out of Engineering?

When my daughter decided she wanted to study engineering, I was very proud of her. At the same time, in the back of my mind, I wondered if she knew what she was in for. As a woman entering a male-dominated field, what kind of treatment could she expect? I thought about my own workplace, in which there are exactly zero women engineers. Would it be a comfortable environment for my daughter or someone like her?

I've discussed my concerns about this with my daughter. As the only female student in many of her classes, she's had to get used to rejecting unwanted advances from her male classmates. Fortunately, she hasn't had any really egregious experiences so far. She also has the benefit of a strong personality and a desire to succeed, and is not overly concerned with what others think of her. I'd like to think that she's tough and determined enough to be immune to the effects of any sexism she happens to encounter.

However, sexism isn't -- or shouldn't be -- a problem for my daughter to deal with. It's a problem for the entire engineering profession to deal with. As I argued in an earlier Design News blog, a better balance of men and women could lead to better engineering. To the extent that male engineers create or perpetuate a culture that makes women feel unwelcome, we undermine our own profession.

Just how much sexism do women in engineering face? A new blog called Everyday Sexism in STEM sheds light on this question. Taking a cue from Laura Bates' Everyday Sexism Project, the blog provides a forum for women in STEM fields to talk about sexist treatment they encounter.

Some of the behavior documented in the blog is truly terrifying. Some of the women describe horrific incidents of rape and sexual assault. In other cases, the women experienced discrimination: being passed over for jobs, or advised against pursuing them in the first place, because of their gender. In some cases, the behavior described is simply annoying: unfunny jokes, unwanted comments, or unintentional insults. Part of the project's message, however, is that even these seemingly minor annoyances can add up to a hostile environment -- especially when they occur on a regular basis and are treated as "normal."

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Many of the incidents described in the blog took place in academia, which might be surprising to those of us who imagined that the academic world is more cultured or progressive than industry. However, a mechanical engineering intern describes a supervisor who refers to her as his "secretary," even while she does CAD work that the supervisor takes credit for. Meanwhile, other male supervisors make inappropriate comments about her appearance and criticize her for not doing the same work as the male interns, not realizing that her supervisor won't let her. She says that she feels "trapped and depressed."

A commenter on the forum encouraged her to get involved with her local Society of Women Engineers chapter in order to find a better internship. This is almost definitely good advice. In most mechanical engineering companies, behavior like that of her supervisors would not be acceptable, and she would have a much better internship experience. However, it's a shame that this young woman will have to seek another job simply because her supervisors never learned to treat people with respect.

Hopefully, though, this young woman will stay in engineering. In a 2012 study entitled STEMming the Tide: Why Women Leave Engineering, Dr. Nadya Fouad and Dr. Romila Singh of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee investigated why women make up more than 20% of engineering graduates, but only 11% of working engineers.

The researchers surveyed more than 5,500 women with undergraduate engineering degrees. About 10% never entered the engineering profession; after earning their degrees, they pursued other careers. Of these, many said that it was due to their perception of engineering culture as being unsupportive of women. Another 30% entered the engineering workforce, but later left. Some of these women mentioned reasons that are also often cited by men who leave the profession: long hours, low pay, or lack of advancement. About a quarter left in order to spend more time with their families. Others, about a third, cited poor working conditions, a hostile organizational climate, or a male-dominated culture.

What about the women who chose to stay in engineering? According to the survey, there was no difference between those who left and those who stayed in terms of their level of interest in engineering or their assessment of their own engineering skills. Women who stayed in engineering were also neither more nor less likely to be married or to have children. There wasn't a significant difference in pay, either; those who stayed weren't making any more than those who left. However, the women who stayed reported having greater support from their companies, including opportunities for training and personal development. Most importantly, they reported being treated with respect.

To me, this is the most important point, and the reason why I hope that everyone reading this will take a look at the Everyday Sexism in STEM blog. Nearly all of the incidents reported there could be avoided simply by treating people with respect. I hope that reading these stories doesn't cause any young women considering a career in engineering to change their minds. Instead, I hope they will be strong, work hard, and succeed. However, I also hope that all engineers, male and female, will do whatever they can to make these stories a thing of the past.