Women in Engineering: Gender, Power, and Workplace CultureWho are the women who became engineers in the 1970s and 1980s? How have they fared in the most male-dominated profession in America? This is the first book to answer these questions. It explores the backgrounds, family lives, work experiences, and attitudes of engineers in order to explain the unequal patterns of career development for women, who generally hold lower positions and receive fewer promotions than their male counterparts. McIlwee and Robinson synthesize two theoretical approaches frequently used to explain the status of women in the workforce—gender role and structural theories—providing new insights into improving women's careers in traditionally male occupations. |
Contents
Paths to Engineering | 23 |
College Experiences | 46 |
Encountering the Engineering Workplace 70 | 79 |
The Culture of Engineering in the Workplace | 109 |
The Family and the Engineering Career | 144 |
Conclusion | 175 |
Research Methods | 193 |
Notes | 217 |
Bibliography | 221 |
Subject Index | 237 |
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ability academic aerospace affirmative action attitudes behaviors chapter choice co-workers competence competition cultural mandate culture of engineering Current Job electrical engineering employers encourage engi engineering school engineering students experience faculty father feel felt female gender role perspective gender socialization Ginger graduated hands-on husbands important insecurity interac interactional resources interests Jo Freeman lack less major male classmates male engineers male gender role male-dominated marriage married to engineers math and science mechanical engineering ment mentor mommy track neering nontraditional occupations opportunities organization organizational orientation patterns percent positions power relations problems profes profession professional promotion questionnaire relationships respondents rience sample self-confidence and assertiveness Sex Segregation sexism sexual harassment skills status structure success technical self-confidence there's things tinkering tion token told traditional wanted woman women engineers women in engineering workplace culture