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Abstract

Over the last two decades rates of women’s participation in science, engineering, and technology careers has greatly increased. However, to date little research exists on how women, especially those in management positions, are performing within these fields. Using data obtained from over 2,493 survey respondents and 28 focus groups, we seek to understand the barriers that hinder the retention and advancement of women in managerial positions in these career fields. Paying particular attention to for-profit science, engineering and technology firms, we argue that there are significant barriers to female retention and advancement within these fields related to the norms of professionalisation, and that from a human resources perspective firms could do a much better job of leveraging the existing female talent pipeline in these occupations. In addition, we highlight the implications of our findings and provide our