-Gender imbalance is a persistent issueacross Canadian engineering programs. Efforts have been made to increase the enrolment of undergraduate women in engineering, but reaching gender parity in engineering has been an elusive goal. This research examines program recruitment images and videos from 18 Canadian engineering university websites. Using content analysis and thematic coding of video transcriptions, we coded 440 unique images and 37 recruitment videos. We find that women students are overrepresented in images and in videos, at rates higher than we expect given their proportion within programs. We compare the presentation of women and men across several dimensions and identify key differences in women's representation in relevant settings, attire, and in the kinds of learning experiences they emphasize in videos. We conclude with suggestions for ways programs can present a more neutral portrayal of women in recruitment materials.
This chapter probes genetic ancestry tests, which are being used increasingly by individuals for a number of reasons. Many are seeking ways to fill in gaps in their family tree; some are hoping to assert membership in certain groups or tribes; and others are simply curious. Nearly 500 test-takers filled out an online survey with questions attempting to form a basis of understanding about the types of people who take these tests, why they take them, and the impact the results have on their identity. There are multiple types of tests offered through various companies, including Y-chromosome tests to infer paternal haplogroup; mitochondrial DNA tests to infer maternal haplogroup; and autosomal or admixture tests, which examine nonsex chromosomes inherited from both parents. The majority of respondents claimed that the tests had an impact on some aspect of their life.
Gender imbalance exists in nearly everyundergraduate engineering department in Canada. Thereis evidence that subtle gendered wording may influenceperceptions of women’s fit in a field. In this study, weapplied a content analysis approach to evaluating thepresence of gendered words in engineeringundergraduate recruitment materials and compared theseresults to enrolment data and other factors for 18English-language Canadian engineering schools. To ourknowledge, this is the first evaluation of genderedwording in recruitment materials as a factor in theenrolment of women in engineering. We found that the useof feminine wording in recruitment materials has a weak,negative correlation with enrolment of women students,but a positive correlation with percentage of femalefaculty members. Our data point to the need for furtheranalysis of recruitment material and with attentionfocused on the performance of gender in this material,and how it and other factors may influence enrolment.
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