icwes15 - perception of barriers to career progression by women engineers and engineering students....

1© Unitec New Zealand

PERCEPTION OF BARRIERS TO CAREER PROGRESSION BY WOMEN ENGINEERS

AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Achela K. Fernando

Department of Civil Engineering, Unitec Institute of Techonolgy, Auckland, New Zealand

15th International Conference for Women Engineers and Scientists, 2011, July 18-22, Adelaide, Australia


THIS PRESENTATION………

• BACKGROUND

• THE SURVEY– Section 1 – Identifying the status– Section 2 – Perception of engineering as a profession and

the place of women in Engineering– Section 3 – Identifying inhibitors– Section 4 – Engineering education– Section 5 – Identifying work place issues– Section 6 – Identifying the wish list

• SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS


• BACKGROUND




PERCEPTION OF BARRIERS TO CAREER PROGRESSION BY WOMEN ENGINEERS AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS


BACKGROUND• Engineering is a male-dominated profession.

• Women are under-represented in many countries – USA, UK, India, NZ, Australia…..

• In New Zealand (DoL Survey, 2006):

• In New Zealand (IPENZ, 2011)

Participation of women

All Occupations 47%

Architects and Engineering related occupations 16%

Engineering education (tertiary) ~18%

Participation of women

Registered Chartered Professional Engineers 6%


Fig. 1: Distribution of female CPEng registrants in New Zealand (IPENZ, 2011)



• BACKGROUND





THE SURVEY

• Ethics approval - 15th November 2010

• Survey Monkey

• Questionnaire made up of 6 sections, 38 questions

• Sent out to 35 (with NZ experience, either education or working ) personal contacts with request to forward to similar

• Sent out on 28th January

• Responses collected on 15th February

• 47 responses

• Anonymous


• BACKGROUND






Section 1 – Identifying the status

Fig. 2: The composition (number and %) of the surveyed sample

Full time student

Part time student

Working in industry - Full time

Working in industry - Part time

Engineer taking leave/a

break from work

Student taking leave/a

break from studies

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

12.8%8.5%

74.5%

6.4% 8.5%4.3%

6 4 35 3 4 2


• BACKGROUND






Section 2 – Perception of engineering as a profession and the place of women in Engineering

1. Do you think that “Engineering is a man’s world”?

2. Is the ratio of women:men in engineering balanced in your place of work/study?

3. Is the ratio of women to men in balanced in engineering industry in general?

4. What would you like the ratio of women:men engaged in engineering to be?

5. Do you think that there is a need to dedicate long hours to work to succeed in engineering industry in general?


1. Do you think that “Engineering is a man’s world”?

Yes (30%)

No (70%)


2. Is the ratio of women:men in engineering balanced in your place of work/study?

Yes (11%)

No (89%)


4. What would you like the ratio of women:men engaged in engineering to be?

1 1 1

4

1119

3100:0 (1, 3%)

20:80 (1, 3%)

25:75 (1, 3%)

30:70 (4, 10%)

40:60 (11, 28%)

50:50 (19, 48%)

60:40 (3, 8%)

Other responses:Depends on the nature of an engineering job.What ever best reflects the skill level of the nation.Does not matter, it is the choice of the individual.Does not matter what the ratio is.Indifferent as long as anyone who wants to be an engineer can be.


• BACKGROUND






Section 3 – Identifying inhibitors

1. Women face more opposition in leadership roles than men.

2. Some men do not feel comfortable with having to report to women.

3. Female engineers have to work harder to get ahead in the work place.

4. Women engineers are smart people; but they still have to put in more time, deliver better quality to earn the status/reputation/appreciation a man gets by doing less.

5. There is no pay parity between women and men in engineering for similar work. Women get paid less.

6. An assertive woman is perceived to be strong-willed while a man is expected to be assertive.


Obstacle Disagree Neutral Agree

Women face more opposition in leadership roles than men. 22% 26% 52%Some men do not feel comfortable with having to report to women. 17% 24% 60%Female engineers have to work harder to get ahead in the work place. 24% 17% 59%Women engineers are smart people; but they still have to put in more time, deliver better quality to earn the status/ reputation/ appreciation a man gets by doing less. 29% 26% 45%There is no pay parity between women and men in engineering for similar work. Women get paid less. 33% 36% 31%An assertive woman is perceived to be strong-willed while a man is expected to be assertive. 19% 29% 52%

Tab. 1: Agreement with prevalence of obstacles to career progression


Tab. 1: Agreement with prevalence of obstacles to career progression

Obstacle Disagree Neutral Agree

Women face more opposition in leadership roles than men.22% 26% 52%

Some men do not feel comfortable with having to report to women.

17% 24% 60%Female engineers have to work harder to get ahead in the work place.

24% 17% 59%Women engineers are smart people; but they still have to put in more time, deliver better quality to earn the status/ reputation/ appreciation a man gets by doing less.

29% 26% 45%There is no pay parity between women and men in engineering for similar work. Women get paid less. 33% 36% 31%An assertive woman is perceived to be strong-willed while a man is expected to be assertive. 19% 29% 52%Women face more opposition in leadership roles than men.

22% 26% 52%


Pay parity

Disagree Neutral Agree

There is no pay parity between women and men in engineering for similar work. Women get paid less. 33% 36% 31%

• Participants are very likely to be unaware of the actual salary their male counterparts draw.

• A survey on actual remuneration with a small sample size of females over 35 years and conducted by IPENZ (IPENZ, 2009), showed that women with CPEng status got paid consistently lower than their male counterparts across all age groups.

• Survey in the UK in 2008 (Whitelaw, 2008) showed that women MICE received 32% less pay than MICE males.

• Survey in Canada concluded that women leave engineering for the same reason that a man leaves a job, i.e. pay and promotion concerns or opportunities (Flynn, 2010; Kiviat, 2010).


Pay parity in New Zealand

Last month (June 2011) in New Zealand

• Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty's member's bill to amend the Equal Pay Act.

• The Act gives women(and men) access to information about pay rates in their workplace to check if there is gender-based discrimination.

• Mr Alisdair Thompson (CE of Employers and Manufacturer’s Association) admitted there was a gender pay gap in New Zealand.

• Mr Alisdair Thompson claims: gender pay gap is due to women having monthly "sick problems", babies and needing to take extra leave.


• BACKGROUND






Section 4 – Engineering education

1. Were female students a minority when you were an engineering student?

2. If “Yes” to the above question what approximate percentage (P%) of females were there in the same year/level?

3. Have you ever been taught by male engineering academics?

4. If “Yes” did you see any difference (positive or negative) in the way he treated you compared to how he treated your male colleagues?

5. If “Yes” was it positive/negative or have you come across both?

6. If negative do you think this is a common occurrence?

7. If negative do you think it was intentional?

8-12. Same as 3-8 but for female engineering academics


Section 4 – Engineering education – Contd..

13. Do you feel you get treated as an equal in your work place/institute among your fellow engineering staff/students?

14. All-girls’ education (up to secondary school) is better in that gender issues never come up and girls grow up believing that they can do anything.

15. Co-education is better in that it allows mutual understanding early in life.


Do you feel you get treated as an equal in your workplace/institute among your fellow engineering staff/students?

63.4%22.0%

14.6%Yes (63.4%)

No (22%)

Not sure


Co-education is better in that it allows mutual understanding early in life.

64%7%

29%

Yes (64%)

No (7%)

Not sure (29%)


All-girls’ education (up to secondary school) is better in that gender issues never come up and girls grow up believing that they can do anything.

28.6%

33.3%

38.1%

Yes

No

Not sure


• BACKGROUND






Section 5 – Identifying work place issues

1. Will having more female members in your work team or study group encourage you?

2. Will having more females in leadership positions in your institute/work place encourage you want to succeed more?

3. Do you think that there is a need to dedicate long hours to work in order to succeed at your workplace?

4. Do you think that there was (will be) a time in your engineering career when you had (will have) to choose between family and career?

5. If “Yes” which did (will) you choose?

6. Would you consider returning to a career in engineering after a long break taken for family reasons, or would you choose a different line of work?


Will having more female members in your work team or study group encourage you?

39.0%

51.2%

9.8%Yes

No

Not sure


Will having more females in leadership positions in your institute/work place encourage you want to succeed more?

57%26%

17%Yes

No

Not sure


Do you think that there was (will be) a time in your engineering career when you had (will have) to choose between family and career?

74%

21%

5%

Yes (74%)

No (21%)

Not sure (5%)


If you have to make a choice which did (will) you choose?

12%

61%

27%Career (12%)

Family (61%)

No applicable (27%)


Would you consider returning to a career in engineering after a long break taken for family reasons, or would you choose a different line of work?

74%

10%

17%Engineering (74%)

Other work (10%)

Not work (0%)

Not sure (17%)


Do you think engineering organisations should offer alternatives to increase participation of women in engineering?

76%

17%

7%

Yes (76%)

No (17%)

No sure (7%)


Provision Number of votes

Flexible Longer breaks for those who have children 15

Flexible work hours 30

Opportunities to work from home 26

Provision of childcare at work place 13

Not sure 1

Not applicable 6

If yes, which of these would be helpful?


Does your organisation/institute offer alternatives in order to increase participation of women in engineering?

33%

45%

21%Yes (14, 33%)

No (19, 45%)

Not sure (9, 21%)


Provision by organisation Number of votes

Flexible hours 13

Opportunities to work from home 10

Contracts arrangements 2

Part time work options 2Opportunities to work from home for both men and women 1

Decreased work hours. eg 30 hr week instead of 40 1

Women only social events 1

Flexible work hours - manager dependent 1

Tab. 3: Provisions already available in some organisations


• BACKGROUND






From Academic institutes: Distance learning

From Professional bodies: Competency evaluation holidays

Section 6 – Identifying the wish list


1. Opportunities to work from home2. Flexi work hours/3. Part time work arrangements4. Opportunities to provide "consultancy" to the company, for a few hours a week (for those with children)

5. Paid/unpaid leave for extended periods6. Increased sick leave due to sickness of children7. Childcare facilities at workplace8. Leave during school holiday periods9. Information (e.g. interviews) on female engineering leaders10. More women in leadership positions for us to look up to11. Informal and formal mentoring12. Treat equally (for example some mangers are reluctant to hand over responsibilities to female counterparts)

Section 6 – Identifying the wish list – From Industry


• BACKGROUND






SUMMARY

• Confirms that there is gender imbalance in the numbers and would like to see more women.

• Identifies several obstacles to advancing careers in this male-dominated industry

• Suggests a number of actions the employers, institutes can take to encourage them to succeed more as well as to keep them in industry longer.– IPENZ could consider making some exemptions – Engineers-Australia-Council, 2008 – alteration of CPD

requirements– Flexible work arrangements– Nurture, mentor and support women engineers– Change in attitude


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Financial support from Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand, to present this paper at International Conference for Women Engineers and Scientists ICWES2011 in Adelaide, Australia is thankfully acknowledged.

• Support from Associate Professor Jonathan Leaver in proof reading the manuscript is gratefully acknowledged (Any remaining errors are author’s own).


THANK YOU

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