Gender Complexity and Experience of Women Undergraduate Students within the Engineering Domain

Abstract

Despite continuous efforts for reducing gender inequality in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), engineering still steadfastly remains one of the least equitable fields in Australian universities. There has been an increasing growth of international scholarship on women’s underrepresentation in engineering; nevertheless, research on understanding contributing factors to the Australian women students’ participation in engineering is relatively underdeveloped. To address this knowledge gap, we examine the experience of women undergraduate students and explore influential factors that contribute to the complexity of pursuing engineering. Applying a qualitative approach, we conducted 16 interviews with women undergraduate students enrolled across five engineering courses at Macquarie University, Australia. The results of the thematic analysis indicate that women students often have a supporting network of relationships and view themselves as intellectually fit to study engineering. However, they have been facing several interrelated obstacles that negatively impact their experiences and persistence in engineering. Findings show that gendered perceptions around femininity and masculinity appear to be the origin of gender stereotypes surrounding engineering identity. These not only negatively impact women students’ experiences within the bound of university but also create systemic barriers in the future workplace environment and opportunities. These (mis)perceptions have actively and passively made women students feel out of place, doubt their abilities and feel alienated. We offer suggestions to shift engineering identity outside the dominant masculine construct towards ‘co-construct’ and ‘co-enact’. This will create windows of opportunities to move towards gender equality in engineering.