A study of the gendered construction of the engineering academic context in graduate school

After nearly three decades of reforms intended to increase the flow of women in the engineering pipeline, there are still relatively few women in graduate engineering programs. This exploratory study suggests that the gendered construction of the engineering academic context, which is experienced by women and men in these programs, renders graduate school unattractive to women. The study addresses the following questions: What is the gendered construction of the engineering academic context in graduate school, and how is it negotiated by women and men in engineering graduate programs? And how is this gendered construction manifested differently across engineering concentrations? The term "gendered construction" provides an analytical tool or lense which presumes that gender relations are historically, socially and politically constructed.;The conceptual model uses the following components: (1) early socio-cultural factors, (2) historical and cultural aspects of the engineering profession, (3) student experience in the graduate school environment, and (4) workplace experiences and expectations. The study explores differences in experiences, beliefs and expectations among female and male students based on in-depth interviews and a survey of 540 graduate students in engineering education at a top-ranked research university.;Gender similarities are among the most provoking of this study's findings. However, while women and men are similar with regard to early socio-cultural experiences and in their inclination, competence, and commitment to engineering, it is the interaction between women and men that produces compelling gender differences in the engineering academic context. For example, when women are faced with discrimination or when women are expected to conform to norms of traditional stereotypes of gender-appropriate behavior, the learning environment becomes sexualized. This results in women's increased sense of isolation and not belonging, and produces an environment that prevents the full inclusion and participation of women in the traditionally male domain of engineering.;This study provides a reconceptualization of the underrepresentation of women in engineering and suggests implications for policy. It combines literature from two disciplines, labor market theory (economics) and organizational theory (sociology), both of which have been used to explain the absence of women's participation in science and engineering.