A Qatari perspective on women in the engineering pipeline: an exploratory study

Increasing the retention rate of female students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields has always been challenging in many institutions. Engineering is among the male-dominated fields in both academia and the workplace. In Malaysia, recent statistics indicate that the number of women choosing engineering as a degree is still not encouraging. This paper focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of the programs aimed at empowering female students in engineering, where it discusses the methodologies used, the effectiveness of the programs, and the impact on students' perceptions and attitudes toward engineering. Several retention programs that target female engineering students were employed, such as providing a peer-supportive environment, establishing a society of women engineers in university, organizing cooperative events and activities, and exposing them to successful female role models. The effectiveness of the programs was evaluated using a survey administered to female undergraduate students at Taylor’s University, Malaysia as part of a one-year project titled “EWE: Empowering Engineering Female Students to Improve Retention and Progression”, funded by Engineering Information Foundation (EiF). By using thematic coding and statistical tests, the survey aimed to investigate the motives behind female students' decisions to pursue engineering as a degree and assess Self-efficacy and Sustained Interest in Engineering as a result of the empowerment programs. The programs implemented here can be adapted by other universities, especially in Malaysia aiming to provide opportunities and success rates for female engineers.

Currently, there remains a shortage of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields despite recent efforts to increase numbers. The Department of Commerce is predicting that STEM job openings will grow 17% by 2018, which is a much faster rate than most other careers. These are among the highest-paying fields, in part because of the rising demand. Educational institutions in the United States will have to address this issue in order to compete economic leadership globally. High schools, community colleges, and four year institutions must increase awareness and efforts to recruit and retain more women in STEM majors. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of female transfer engineering students at Midwestern University. Participants were asked what were their experiences as female engineering students at both the community college and the four-year institution? They were also asked to share about the community college transfer process, student involvement, relationship with faculty and advisors, sense of belonging, interaction with Faculty and staff/mentorship, peer interactions, and academic performance. Qualitative methods were used provide in-depth information regarding each student’s negative and positive experiences at both the community college and Midwestern University as a female transfer engineering student to provide a better understanding the different experiences of being an female engineering student at Midwestern University after transferring from a community college. Students reported how their interest in STEM was discovered early in their educational journey. They shared how their interest in STEM was

Due to constrained resources South African universities are aware and focused on trying to improve retention. This is also true at the University of Johannesburg where industrial engineering has a higher intake of female students than some of the other engineering fields. Retention of female engineering students is therefore an important aspect to investigate. However at the University of Johannesburg in general female students are retained better than male students. This article will look into whether or not female engineering students are retained better than male engineering students. The study will add to the knowledge on the effectiveness of retention of female industrial engineers at a South Africa institution.

This study assesses the enterprising characteristics of first-year undergraduate Omani female chemical engineering students in Muscat, Oman. Pre and post surveys were conducted with 27 respondents from an entrepreneurship boot camp module mandated by the Oman Ministry of Higher Education. The variables, measured on a 10-point Likert scale, included need for achievement, need for autonomy, creativity, risk-taking, and locus of control. Statistical analysis was performed on the integrated data to measure the impact of student learning using a t-test approach and comparing mean averages. This was followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews that were examined using thematic analysis. The comparison of students’ enterprise tendencies before and after the module indicates minor to moderate improvements in their entrepreneurial abilities and their understanding of entrepreneurial behavior. The most noticeable impact was on students’ risk-taking abilities, followed by their creativity, need for achievement, need for control, and, lastly, their need for autonomy. The findings illustrate that students perceived entrepreneurship positively but were concerned about the scheduling of the module and its integration into their core program of study. Students may have benefited further from a module of extended duration as opposed to the block delivery “boot camp” mode of learning. Due to the limited number of participants and the focus on female students only, the results of the study cannot be generalized. However, the article presents an initial exploration of and offers insights into enterprising characteristics among an empirically underexplored demographic and nonbusiness group.

The Rocky Mountain Scholars Program (RMSP) was developed, in part, to improve student success and persistence in Engineering disciplines at Colorado State Universi-ty through a portfolio of engagement activities focused around undergraduate research experiences. Female RMSP participants exhibited substantially higher retention rates and grade point averages relative to other female engineering students at CSU. To better understand the impact of the RMSP, and its effectiveness among female engi-neering students, researchers focused on whether, and how, experiences and percep-tions differ between male and female students in engineering programs. That is, how do male and female students differ, if at all, in their subjective perception of life as an engineering major at CSU? A survey was developed measuring resilience, self-efficacy, motivation, social support, academic support, and perceived sexism. Data was obtained from 144 first-year engineering students at CSU. Results indicated that social support from extracurricular activities is particularly important among female students. This points to an increasing need for programs like the RMSP to create social networks among students and faculty, link students to the broader impacts of their work, and ultimately improve the undergraduate experience of under-represented groups in STEM programs.

The purposes of this study were to determine a reading ability level based on the CEFR for male and female engineering students and to compare their reading levels on the CEFR and DIALANG self-assessment grids with the level based on their performance on the reading tasks. The participants were 162 Iranian male and female undergraduate students at the Iran University of Science and Technology. DIALANG and CEFR reading self-assessment grids and four reading tasks at four levels (i.e., A2, B1, B2, and C1) were administered to the participants. Considering the students’ performance on the reading tasks, the results revealed that female learners outperformed the male learners; however, a considerable number of learners (about 40%) in both groups were considered ‘Below B1’. The results also showed that learners’ self-assessment did not closely correspond with their performance on the reading tasks as both groups of learners rated their reading ability lower on the CEFR and DIALANG grids; nevertheless, the highest matches were related to the female learners' ratings on the DIALANG grid.

At the Cooper Union School of Engineering, female students account for about thirty five percent of the student population. This figure has held constant for the past ten years. Rather than trailing male students, female engineers at Cooper show a remarkable success in various areas, as measured by positive perception of the school's curriculum and programs and academic results. This paper presents and analyzes the basic evidence of female success at Cooper for the past years. It also provides a context to understand and pursue success by female engineering students elsewhere. Rather than providing their own interpretation of the data, the authors asked the female students themselves to give their opinions by responding to a questionnaire. The results of this survey, conducted among female engineering students, are included and commented.

Intentions and Expectations of Female Phd Students in Engineering at One University in Malaysia

In Canada, the proportion of female students in engineering is considerably lower than the proportion of female students in higher education. Using Tinto’s (1993) theories concerning social and academic integration, this study investigated the relationships between the proportion of female undergraduate engineering students, and the proportion of female faculty, and departmental lead faculty. Using descriptive statistics, the study established that distinct and persistent differences exist in the proportions of female enrolment among schools and among sub-disciplines. This paper addresses a gap in the literature concerning the impact of sub-discipline choice on women's engagement and success within undergraduate engineering programs in Canada. The proportion of female students was found to vary considerably across the sub-disciplines, from 48% in biosystems to 15% in software engineering [14]. The paper will present female sub-discipline enrolment trends over time and discuss the impact of sub-discipline choice and institutional factors on female students' successful academic and social integration within Canadian engineering schools.

We examine the attitudes of entering freshman engineering students and how they change over the course of the first year at 17 institutions. In addition to better understanding these attitudes and the changes that occur, we explore how these changes potentially affect such issues as “first term probation” and attrition from engineering programs. Particular attention is directed at isolating differences due to gender and ethnicity. Thirteen different student attitudes were captured using thePittsburgh Freshman Engineering Attitude Survey© (PFEAS) at the beginning of the first semester (pre) and at either the end of the first semester or first academic year (post).Definite gender differences were found on the pre‐survey for five of the attitude measures. For all but one of these measures, female engineering students' initial attitudes were more negative than those of male students. Across the sample of institutions, female students consistently began their engineering studies with a lower confidence in background knowledge about engineering, their abilities to succeed in engineering, and their perceptions of how engineers contribute to society than did their male counterparts. However, those same female students were more comfortable with their study habits than were the male students. The post questionnaire data indicated that differences for three of these five attitude measures persisted. Most important, female engineering students continued to maintain a lower confidence in their abilities to succeed in engineering as compared to male engineering students. When the PFEAS data were mapped into EC 2000 outcomes, comparable cross‐institutional gender differences were observed that paralleled those found for the attitudinal measures.Because the number of minority students was relatively small, significant cross‐institutional differences between each minority cohort studied (African American, Asian Pacific, and Hispanic) and the majority cohort, similar cross‐institutional patterns could not be observed. However, possible trends were found between African American and majority students' attitudes for certain measures, while other attitudinal measures were found to be significant when Hispanic students were compared to majority students. Significant attitudinal differences between Asian Pacific and majority students were similar to those found between female and male engineering students.By knowing how attitudinal measures differ among gender and ethnic cohorts, and understanding how those differences relate to attrition from engineering programs, we can then developed more informed programmatic initiatives that can impact these attitude in a positive manner. As a result, we may be able to reduce engineering attrition, especially by underrepresented student cohorts.

IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) has extended its hand to reach out to groups that are below the radar for a long time?groups that are intellectual, diverse, dynamic, creative, and persevering yet often quietly present in a field that is just as diverse and dynamic as the groups that struggle to maintain their presence and be heard?groups such as the female engineering and computer science undergraduate students at Alabama A&M University (AAMU) on ?The Hill? in Huntsville, Alabama. WIE set its sights to collaborate with the group at AAMU as part of promoting and seeking out the diverse talents of more underrepresented groups in the area. Although the female students that represent electrical engineering and computer science are small in number at AAMU, their interests, ideals, and voice to promote the engineering program at AAMU as they aspire to join the global world of engineering is bold, vibrant, and substantient.

Examines the factors affecting the career choice of male and female civil engineering students in the UK. Draws on empirical research from a national survey of graduating male and female civil engineering students which identified similarities and differences between male and female graduates in the factors affecting their career choices. Argues that there are some significant differences between male and female civil engineering students in the factors which affect their career choice but on the whole these factors rank low in their importance. Discusses the implications of these results for employers of civil engineering graduates.

Influenced by factors such as gendered masculine culture within the engineering fields, female engineering students are facing increasing mental health issues. However, the effect of gender or engineering identity on the mental health distress of female engineering students was not well explored till now. This study adds to the current body of knowledge of mental health distress in female engineering students by proposing and verifying a moderating model based on social identity theory (SIT). The data were collected in June 2022 using a cross-sectional survey questionnaire distributed at five universities in eastern China (N = 376). A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to understand the relation between the tension of interpersonal relationships, the mental health distress female engineering students suffer from, and their gender or engineering identity. In our sample, 13.03%, 15.96%, and 14.36% of the female engineering students self-reported moderate to extremely severe stress, anxiety, and depression, respectively. Meanwhile, our results provide empirical evidence for the significantly positive relationship between the female engineering students’ tension of interpersonal relationships and their mental health distress, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Moreover, we found that gender identity can enhance the positive relationships mentioned above, while engineering identity could weaken these relationships. These findings provide empirical evidence for the role of social identity theory in dealing with mental health problems among engineering students. Broadly, the results of this work inform that social identity and professional role identity should be considered when designing interventions to prevent mental health crises among college students.

This chapter reports the results of a study conducted on Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) female undergraduate students’ intentions on becoming entrepreneurs and their perceptions towards entrepreneurship. This study employed predictive modelling to understand and predict the start of own business by female students in a developing country like Oman. The key research question addressed in this chapter is: What factors influence Sultan Qaboos University’s female students towards entrepreneurship? Using a questionnaire survey, data were collected from 200 undergraduate female students at the College of Economics and Political Science in 2015. The findings suggest that, while the general perceptions on factors that influence the entrepreneurial aspirations of female SQU undergraduate students are positive, a small portion of these students still hold ambivalent views towards entrepreneurship. This research has important implications for researchers, practitioners, policy makers and entrepreneurship educators.

This study aimed to investigate Engineering students’ perceptions, problems, and preferred tasks about academic listening. The participants were 199 Iranian undergraduate students of Engineering at the Iran University of Science and Technology. The instruments were a questionnaire with 40 items and an interview with 3 open-ended items. Considering learners’ attitudes, both male and female learners were aware of the importance of academic listening for their success and found listening comprehension exciting. With regard to problems, both male and female learners reported that insufficient vocabulary, speed of speech, poor quality of recordings, long texts, and unfamiliar topics were their major listening problems. The findings also revealed that listening to news reports, listening to academic interview, listening to academic discussion, listening to announcement, and listening to conversation were the male students’ preferred tasks, while listening to academic interviews, listening to seminars and presentations, listening to academic discussion were the female students’ preferred tasks.