Published 6 issues per year
ISSN Print: 1072-8325
ISSN Online: 1940-431X
Indexed in
CAREER ISSUES AND LABORATORY CLIMATES: DIFFERENT CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS (SURVEY OF FISCAL YEAR 1997 POWRE AWARDEES)
ABSTRACT
A survey of fiscal year 1997 POWRE (Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education) awardees from the National Science Foundation revealed that women engineers and scientists face similar issues, challenges, and opportunities and think that the laboratory climate has similar impacts on their careers. Separating responses of women scientists from those of women engineers revealed that 70% of both groups listed balancing work with family responsibilities as the most difficult issue. Discrepancies in percentages of women, coupled with differences among disciplinary and subdisciplinary cultures within science, engineering, mathematics, and technology fields, complicate work climates and their impact on women's careers. More frequently than women scientists, women engineers listed issues such as (a) low numbers of women leading to isolation, (b) lack of camaraderie and mentoring, (c) gaining credibility/respect from peers and administrators, (d) time management, (e) prioritizing responsibilities due to disproportionate demands, and (f) learning the rules of the game to survive in a male-dominated environment. Women engineers also listed two positive issues more frequently than women scientists: active recruitment/more opportunities for women and impact of successful women in the profession. The small number of women engineers may explain these results and suggests that it may be inappropriate to group them with other women scientists for analysis, programs, and policies.
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Rosser Sue V., Revisiting POWRE Awardees After a Decade: Continuing Issues for Successful Academic Women Scientists and Engineers, in Academic Women in STEM Faculty, 2017. Crossref
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