Longitudinal Survey of Female Faculty in Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Abstract

Female faculty in biological and agricultural engineering (BAE) were surveyed in 1998 to examine their professional experiences, motivations, and insights. Approximately 7% of all BAE faculty were women in 1998, and the total number of women in the population was 57. Results, based on a 61% response rate, showed that 60% of the population was at the assistant professor rank. Respondents reported that BAE departments provided a supportive environment and believed that the attraction of women to BAE was due to its emphasis on biological systems, as well as biological engineering's relative newness and lack of long-standing stereotypes of male dominance. Full results of the original survey were published in the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering in 2000. We re-surveyed the population of women in BAE in 2006 because we believe that longitudinal data on this population will provide interesting insights into this group and its experiences in the profession, and may suggest ways to increase female representation among engineering faculty. The population is now comprised of 89 women and represents approximately 11% of BAE faculty. Approximately 85% of all women in the original 1998 survey population are included in the current population. Reasons given by those exiting the population include staying in academia but moving to non-BAE departments such as chemical engineering or bioengineering, being promoted to academic leadership positions without retaining primary BAE status, or pursuing other non-academic professional opportunities. Forty-nine percent of the population are now assistant professors, and the number of BAE full professors increased from 10% in 1998 to 19% in 2006. A significant number of women BAE faculty have engineers and/or faculty members within their immediate families; two respondents are second-generation women engineers. The reported self-confidence level of women faculty is 65%, the same as the 1998 survey. Ninety-five percent of respondents act as mentors to others (up from 72% in 1998). Eighty-four percent of respondents do not feel that they have experienced space inequities, and 73% do not believe they have experienced salary inequities. Lack of support for dual-career couples and other family issues were mentioned by 48% of respondents as issues that could be addressed to improve the climate for women faculty in BAE; these issues were mentioned more often in 2006 than in 1998.