Dive Brief:
- Of the 5,300 female engineering graduates between 1947 and 2010 at U.S.universities, 38% of them never went into the field or bailed out for a variety of reasons, according to study results presented by two organizational behavior researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
- Heavy workloads without support, unclear expectations about workloads and standards ,and very limited opportunities for advancement are reasons found in their survey.
- Among the 62% of women who stayed in engineering, the survey found, a third have moved into project management and 15% were in executive roles rather than practicing.
Dive Insight:
The next step in the research project is to find out why male engineers stay or leave the profession, and then make an effort to determine what makes a great engineering workplace for both genders. The survey drew mostly on graduates from 30 U.S. universities that have the highest numbers of women in engineering programs, and then from graduates of 200 other schools.