Engineering companies urged to make room for the 'gadget girls'
March 9, 2006The classic stereotype of an engineer a man who is brilliant at and passionate about technology, but not so good at dealing with people bears little resemblance to actual engineers or their work, according to new research from the University of Edinburgh. These stereotypes hamper the engineering profession's efforts to recruit women, says Dr Wendy Faulkner who carried out the study.
Dr Faulkner, who interviewed and observed 66 men and women engineers working in a range of industries, says: "Women and men engineers alike get excited about technology even though fewer of the women have a 'tinkerer' background. There are 'gadget girls' as well as 'boys and their toys' in engineering. At the same time, many different types of men and women enjoy engineering work very few fit the classic stereotype.
She adds: "In practice, engineering encompasses a wide variety of jobs and roles. It is a 'broad church' with room for a diverse range of people. Yet the image of engineering and often the culture remains a narrowly technical, 'nuts and bolts' one.
"Retention is as important as recruitment many of those women who do complete engineering degrees don't go onto engineering jobs or leave the industry after only a few years," says Dr Faulkner. "Part of the issue is that women who enter engineering have to become 'one of the lads' in order to fit in. Many subtle aspects of the culture, which may appear trivial individually, when taken as a whole have a 'dripping tap' effect making it harder for women to belong, and get on in engineering."
The study shows in detail how topics of conversation, humour and social activities often reflect men's interest and ways of bonding. This can leave women on the margins socially, and make it difficult for women to break into the 'inner circles' that influence how the job gets done and who gets promoted.
"By contrast, engineering workplace cultures accommodate a range of men laddish blokes, family men, pranksters, macho men, nerdy men, urbane men, genteel men and so they are likely to feel comfortable to the great majority of men," says Dr Faulkner.
"If more women are to stay and progress in engineering workplaces, there is a strong business case for employers to introduce sustained and sensitive diversity training, to raise awareness of these kind of issues and to nurture more 'inclusive' workplace cultures in which everyone is comfortable," says Dr Faulkner.
Source: University of Edinburgh
-
UGA discovery uses 'fracture putty' to repair broken bone in days
Feb 06, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (13) |
0
-
Men more likely to have an accurate memory of unpleasant experiences
Feb 01, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Gender differences in liver cancer risk explained by small changes in genome
Jan 19, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
'Women worse at math than men' explanation scientifically incorrect, researchers say
Jan 18, 2012 |
3 / 5 (6) |
1
-
Study reveals origins of esophageal cancer
Jan 17, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
More news stories
Employers feel no love for unscrupulous practice of 'service sweethearting'
A new study led by two Florida State University marketing professors finds that some frontline service employees who are rewarded for hikes in customer loyalty and satisfaction also may engage in "service ...
Other Sciences / Economics & Business
7 hours ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
4
A frank discussion of the power law and linking correlation to causation
(PhysOrg.com) -- Michael Stumpf a mathematics professor at Imperial College in London, and Mason Porter a lecturer at Oxford have teamed together to write and publish a perspective piece in Science regarding the in ...
The question of life in the ancient world
Theres a general feeling that we dont get the Greeks ancient or modern. Many, including heads of state like Angela Merkel, visibly shake their head in exasperation, rightly or wrongly, at ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
13 hours ago |
1.3 / 5 (3) |
4
Sonic Cradle lands spot in TED exhibition
A Simon Fraser University graduate student project that melds music, meditation and modern technology has landed a rare spot as an exhibit at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, California this month.
9 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Chilean miners' rescue capsule on show in London
The capsule used to rescue Chilean miners trapped underground for two months goes on display Saturday at the Science Museum in London -- the first time it has been seen in Europe.
12 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets
Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.
Anonymous knocks CIA website offline (Update)
The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.
Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins
Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. ...
New error-correcting codes guarantee the fastest possible rate of data transmission
Error-correcting codes are one of the triumphs of the digital age. Theyre a way of encoding information so that it can be transmitted across a communication channel such as an optical fiber o ...
The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males
A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...
Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...