Improving Gender Equity in Engineering—Perspectives from Academia and Literature

Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in engineering is well-known and well-documented. Women have experienced harmful discrimination due to bias, stereotypes, and an overall lack of institutional support. This paper aims to provide a platform focused on educating to empower individuals to continue to address gender inequity in engineering and computer science in academia. A structured literature review was conducted to focus on the disparities that exist for women, explore why those disparities exist, and discuss solutions that could help close the gender gap. The results of the literature review are coupled with the discussion outcomes from a panel on gender and racial equity in engineering conducted at the 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. This paper is also meant to serve as a record of the panel and discussion that was generated. The panelist perspectives include faculty, administrative, and student roles in engineering at institutions of higher education who shared their experiences, insights, knowledge, and wisdom on what has contributed to the imbalance and what must be done to overcome it. The common thematic elements between the literature review and the panel are analyzed and discussed.