PANEL: After #MeToo: What’s next for Women in the Engineering Workplace?

Abstract

She earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with research in protein engineering. Her current research interests include retention, diversity, and career pathways among engineering students and professionals.

Improving Gender Equity in Engineering—Perspectives from Academia and Literature

“…The literature identified disparities which are summarized in Table 1. • Higher faculty ranks [3]- [9] • Postdoctoral positions [7] • Marginalized groups [6], [8], [10], [11] Faculty status/rank 7…”

“…• Fewer leadership positions [9], [12] • Overrepresented in lower ranks [8], [13] • Pay gap [8], [12] • Barriers to obtaining promotion/tenure [12],…”

“…However, once women are in higher faculty ranks, they are not exempt from the disparities that women in lower ranks face [14]. Women from marginalized groups are especially subject to underrepresentation [6], [8], [10], [11] and discrimination [6]. The absence of women of color faculty and mentors can have a negative effect on young women of color wanting to pursue a career in engineering [11].…”

“…Our findings are summarized in Table 2. • Gender bias [5], [6], [8], [9], [12], [13], [16] • Biased evaluations [6], [7], [12], [14] • Implicit bias [5], [7], [12] • Racial bias [6], [16] • Explicit bias [7] Preconceived notions about women (not including bias) 8…”

“…Many different types of bias come into play. The most notable one is gender bias [5], [6], [8], [9], [12], [13], [16], where women are held to different standards and do not receive equal treatment because of their gender. Explicit bias or conscious bias is when individuals are aware that their actions and thoughts are different for certain groups [7].…”