Gender Dynamics: A Case Study of Role Allocation in Engineering Education

Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in engineering remains a problem till this day, where women made up 4% of its registered professional engineers in South Africa in 2014. The experience of women engineers in industry and women students in engineering courses can play a significant role in their decision to remain in engineering or pursue a different career path. The investigation of gender dynamics in small groups of engineering students, specifically focusing on the participation and role allocation of women students, can shed light on the experiences of women students in the engineering education environment. This paper shows that, although women engineering students are still in the minority in engineering courses, many are active participators in groups and fulfill leadership roles in those groups.