What Challenges Affect Arab Women’s Engagement in STEM Fields, Particularly Engineering: A Systematized Literature Review

Abstract

Arab women confront numerous challenges restricting their engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly in engineering. This study conducted a systematized literature review to identify these challenges, guided by the research question: "What challenges affect Arab women's engagement in STEM fields, particularly engineering?" A search was conducted using databases such as ERIC, Education Source from the EBSCO platform, and Compendex, Inspec from the Engineering Village platform. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of twelve peer-reviewed articles were selected and analyzed to examine the challenges that Arab women encounter in these fields. The analysis revealed three main themes: The inherent nature of Arab culture and society and the role of family support in the Engineering field, gender stereotyping in Arab and engineering cultures, and the characteristics of the Arab workplace and employment. Addressing these challenges is crucial for promoting Arab women's engagement in engineering, which benefits women and contributes to the growth and development of the economy and society as a whole. This study offers several recommendations for overcoming these barriers, such as raising awareness, providing mentorship and support, creating flexible work schedules and family-friendly policies, fostering diversity and inclusion, and promoting gender equality in the workplace. OutlineThis paper aims to provide a systematized literature review of the challenges faced by Arab women in STEM fields, with a focus on the field of engineering. The study begins with an introduction to the topic and the research question guiding the study. Next, the Literature Review section examines previous research on the topic, while the Methods section details the process of selecting studies and analyzing results. The Analysis and Results section presents findings in three themes, followed by the Discussion section, which provides an interpretation of the findings, recommendations, and implications for addressing these challenges. Finally, the Conclusion summarizes the key findings of the paper.