Non Engineering Jobs For Mechanical Engineers – Summary. Retaining women in engineering continues to be a problem. Even after overcoming barriers to entering the profession, women leave it much more often than men. Another reason for this is that outside of regular work, women often experience the stress of being a woman in a male-dominated environment. These pressures can be severe, for example when women face gender-based discrimination or abuse; but new research shows that it can be subtle, such as when women feel their contributions are less valued than their peers because occupations and roles are gendered. When this happens daily, this often hidden stress can disappear. This pressure increases feelings of exclusion and makes women consider leaving. Fortunately, researchers have identified important empowerment strategies that women can employ to overcome this persistent problem.
Retaining women in engineering positions remains a persistent problem. Even after overcoming barriers to entry, women are far more likely than men to leave the profession, often due to the stress of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. These pressures can be severe, for example when women face gender-based discrimination or abuse; but our research shows that it can be subtle, such as when women feel their contributions are less valued than their peers because occupations and roles are gendered. When it happens every day, this kind of hidden stress can be overwhelming.
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To better understand these experiences and how women deal with them, we interviewed and surveyed over 330 engineers in the United States (43% female, 57% male) between 2013 and 2017, and interviewed over 20 female engineers in occupation. conferences in the USA and Canada. These engineers range in age from 22 to 50 and come from many fields of engineering.
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Our data provides insights into engineers’ work and career experiences – their work styles, career decisions, work stressors and intentions to leave the industry. Our findings, combined with our other research on identity and resilience, suggest that women engineers experience pressure from hidden and disguised identities such that their skills and work are undervalued in the profession. This pressure increases feelings of exclusion and makes women consider leaving. But we’ve also identified important empowerment strategies that women can use to overcome them.
Early in their training, engineers learn that two sets of skills are required in engineering: “hard” engineering skills (such as technical skills and problem solving) and “soft” skills (such as communication, relationship building, and teamwork). They also learn that these skills are gendered, with the former considered masculine, respected, and superior; and the latter is considered feminine and inferior in status.
Our research shows that many female engineers have felt drawn to non-technical careers. In fact, many of the engineers we spoke to said that, in addition to their technical skills, they enjoy and excel at tasks involving people, communication, and organizational skills. As one of the engineers said:
I knew I didn’t want to sit in front of a computer with a model all day and do calculations. This is not my personality, although I have an engineering background. Also, I’m a good person and that’s what drew me to working with other people instead of being a freelance contributor and just outsource work and be alone all day every day.
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While some women gravitate toward these careers based on their interests, mentors also encourage them to pursue careers and roles that align with the “professional” side of engineering. One engineer described what happened to a work colleague:
He is assigned non-technical tasks, he organizes, assembles, represents the team at team meetings. You did very well there and I have to say you are there, you bring communication skills to the table. And that’s why they want to put him in that position permanently, because he’s doing so well.
However, as one woman noted, others saw these skills as having little to do with what it means to be a “true engineer”. As there is a tendency to define “true” engineers in terms of technical skills and the values associated with being a technical expert, many women feel that their unique skills are not always appreciated or recognized. For example, one said:
It seems that these things, these skills, these qualities have been honed for a long time … Or they are noticed.
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Our interviews with male engineers confirm these beliefs. Men say co-workers tend to focus on “less important” tasks at work. In particular, they stated that their female colleagues “usually excel at the social aspects of work (such as relationship management and multi-tasking), but these aspects represent the “risk” of a real, professional job.
Research also shows that women are disproportionately expected to move from more technical careers to technical supervisory or management roles as they progress in their careers. We found that while some women pursue these managerial or managerial roles based on their interests, others have been trained for these roles. Some evidence suggests this may be due to different measures and assumptions that women use to be more communicative and communicative than men.
One engineer told us that her boss encouraged her to take a management position because she was considered “unfeeling” and “good at getting things done with people.” The engineer we spoke to reiterated the view that women are better suited for leadership positions:
Women do better in leadership positions… many of them show signs of being a good manager, they care about their people, they care about how they communicate, how they develop products… If you have 10 engineers in a room, in our company. , everyone will be smart, but it’s the one who knows how to communicate well, the one who can have people behind him…
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The problem is that leadership roles are undervalued in engineering. Engineering companies tend to be elitist, with the most professional career paths seen as the highest and most valuable, and the least career paths, including project management or product management, seen as less important and less desirable. In fact, most interviewees – especially men – described leadership roles as undesirable, saying “I don’t like being called a manager” or “Maybe they get paid for it, but I don’t know how I do it. ” we can do it.”
When women take on roles that are less valued or less sought after, it can reinforce stereotypes of female engineers as less skilled, make them feel less respected, and create the myth that “they are not real engineers.” Decades of social psychology research show that feeling that you and your work are not appreciated by others in your organization causes chronic and persistent psychological stress. This stress can challenge female engineers’ ability to cope with other stressors such as high demands at work and constant pressure at work, leading to burnout and consideration of quitting.
However, while some of the engineers we hired reported that they intended to leave their jobs, most of them persevered over these obstacles and performed satisfactory tasks. We gained insight into how these women deal with this stress effectively. They do ‘professional identity work’ to bridge the gap between gender and their profession; and their experiences can help other women in engineering to be strong and lead successful and authentic careers.
Ask yourself what you want. Given the tendency in engineering to value technical and professional skills above all else, it’s easy to feel pressured to have the expected fortune without your voice and values creating a sense of dishonesty. Many of the women we spoke to described feeling “different from other engineers” or that they should be “a different person at work”. Try to calm your inner nagging voice instead of struggling to change your motivation to suit the majority opinion.
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One way to feel more authentic is to reflect your personal and professional qualities. Engineers should ask themselves: what is important to me and what is not? What experiences are interesting and how can I get them? What support do I need and from whom? What are my strengths and weaknesses and what would I like to change?
Having a clear vision of your passions, skills, and strengths helps to mute the external noise that undermines the sense that your work is appreciated and creates a sense of authenticity. This, in turn, helps build self-confidence in choosing a career and reduces the stress of deviating from the norm. It can help you notice when you’ve been quietly distracted – chasing work and roles you’ve held.
