Progress hindered: the retention and advancement of women in science, engineering and technology careers

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 policy recommendations to address them.

Career experiences of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields: A systematic literature review

“…Interviewing was used almost exclusively as the means to collect qualitative data. The remaining nine publications include six quantitative studies (Fouad et al, 2016; Glass et al, ; S. A. Nolan et al, ; Schmader et al, ; Settles et al, ; Singh et al, ) and three mixed methods studies (Ecklund et al, ; Ranson, ; Servon & Visser, ). All six quantitative studies relied on survey as the only source of data.…”

“…We were also able to identify institutional variables that either enabled or inhibited the STEM women's career progression, including gender discrimination and lack of career progression policies. The remaining ten studies did not mention any guiding theories (Aaltio & Huang, ; Duberley & Cohen, ; Ecklund, Lincoln, & Tansey, ; Glass, Sassler, Levitte, & Michelmore, ; Hatmaker, ; Kameny et al, ; Orser, Riding, & Stanley, ; San Miguel & Kim, ; Schmader, Johns, & Barquissau, ; Servon & Visser, ).…”

Discrepancies between Female Student Perception and Reality of the Engineering Industry

“…74% of participants said the percentage of women engineers in engineering management or ownership positions was less than 10% and 96% of respondents believed women made up less than 30% of the leadership roles within companies (Table 7). In the engineering, science, and technology industry, women engineers make up about 9.6% of engineering management or ownership positions, based on a survey of nearly 2,500 women with training in these fields (Servon & Visser, 2010). A majority of the participants are aware of the makeup of the engineering industry and the role of women in engineering firms.…”

“…In some instances data for comparison representing only the engineering profession did not exist and in those situations data also encompassing science and technology were included i.e. Servon and Visser, 2010. The fact that only women were included in this study does not allow conclusions to be drawn that limit the results to only females, i.e.…”

Women’s representation in national science academies: An unsettling narrative

“…Typical themes include the participation of the girl-child in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) [10][11][12] , women scientists' representation and performance in STEM occupations [13][14][15][16] , gender differences with regard to remuneration and promotion practices 17,18 , and women's access to technologies 19,20 , to mention a few.…”