The Influence of Professional Engineering Organizations on Women and Underrepresented Minority Students’ Fit

Abstract

Our work focuses on women and underrepresented minority (URM) students’ cultural models of engineering success (CMES) or beliefs about doing well in engineering. Because of its consequential effect on persistence, we pay special attention to the fit domain of CMES—student feelings of belonging in their engineering program. We examine 1) how student fit is affected by participatory social capital (i.e., participation in professional engineering organizations [PEOs] that have as part of their mission a goal to assist students in their STEM education and careers), as well as 2) the factors that affect students’ decisions to participate in PEOs. Due to the traditional prioritization of majority norms in engineering programs, women and URM students’ CMES may conflict with the cultures manifested in engineering departments. Analysis of interviews with 55 women and URM engineering students shows that PEOs, particularly gender- and race-focused PEOs, affect students’ feelings of fit. PEOs affect student fit positively and primarily through expressive social capital—emotional support wherein students feel they fit in because PEOs provide a sense of community and opportunities to be around successful women and URM engineers. PEOs also allow students to build instrumental social capital, such as academic and professional skills, including networking and knowledge development. Encouragement from others and their desire to be around people like themselves played a central role in students joining PEOs. However, students identified time, financial, and fit issues that discouraged them from participating in PEOs. This investigation illuminates how socially distant others from PEOs affect student fit, extending previous work which uncovered how more proximal others affect fit as well as previous work finding that URM students participating in PEOs were more likely to persist in their engineering program. Research, theory, and practice applications are presented.

Sexual and gender minority undergraduates’ relationships and strategies for managing fit in STEM

“…Because the STEM microclimate is generally cis- and heteronormative, and feelings of fit support persistence, it is important that SGM students have the resources to help them feel that they fit in their departments. Such resources include network-based and participatory social capital—SGM faculty, organizations, and peers—that can provide guidance, support, and insight to these students to enhance their ability to persist in their field [ 32 , 34 , 35 , 55 ]. Less than half of the SGM students interviewed felt they completely fit in their department, while over half of the sample were affected by negative stereotypes and behaviors that contributed to poorer feelings of fit.…”

“…Microaggressions are often unrecognized by non-minoritized groups [ 11 ], and these experiences can lead to SGM students experiencing poor climate, which can in turn impact how they feel they belong or fit in their program. We use ‘fit’ to refer to how students feel they belong or feel welcomed into their STEM programs [see 32 , 34 , 35 ]. We view fit as a systematic characteristic, reflecting their STEM program culture, not students’ own supposed weaknesses or strengths.…”

“…Previous work has demonstrated an unwelcoming climate with biases against women and underrepresented racial minority students in STEM [ 6 , 27 – 32 ] and generally [ 33 ]. However, accessing and activating social capital can help students cope with feelings of isolation and improve fit [ 29 , 32 , 34 ]. To our knowledge, social capital theory, precisely social networks, have not been previously explored qualitatively in an SGM STEM population [see 35 ].…”

Scientific Societies Integrating Gender and Ethnoracial Diversity Efforts: A First Meeting Report from Amplifying the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS+)

“…STEM professional societies (ProSs) provide broad capacity to influence needed STEM systems reform. For example, in addition to publishing professional journals, developing inclusive professional excellence through recognition and awards, and setting standards ( 1 ), ProSs comprise an important potential lever in broadening participation in the STEM workforce through various mechanisms, such as helping members network and gain access to resources useful in their career paths ( 2 – 11 ). Recently, there has been renewed interest in leveraging STEM ProSs for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) change.…”

“…Recently, there has been renewed interest in leveraging STEM ProSs for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) change. For example, there has been a surge in peer-reviewed publications and editorials focusing on the DEI efforts of ProSs ( 2 , 11 – 19 , 20 , 21 ). Also, federal funds have been mobilized to increase the impact of ProSs’ efforts, both through longstanding funding mechanisms seeking to broaden participation in STEM, such as Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and more targeted solicitations, such as the NIH’s Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Institutionally Focused Research Education Award and the NSF’s LEAding cultural change through Professional Societies (LEAPS) of Biology solicitation.…”