Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing

More than ever before, girls are studying and excelling in science and mathematics. Yet the dramatic increase in girls’ educational achievements in scientific and mathematical subjects has not been matched by similar increases in the representation of women working as engineers and computing professionals. Just 12 percent of engineers are women, and the number of women in computing has fallen from 35 percent in 1990 to just 26 percent today.

Groundbreaking Research Award

The numbers are especially low for Hispanic, African American, and American Indian women. Black women make up 1 percent of the engineering workforce and 3 percent of the computing workforce, while Hispanic women hold just 1 percent of jobs in each field. American Indian and Alaska Native women make up just a fraction of a percent of each workforce.

Diversity Is Good for Business

The representation of women in engineering and computing matters. Diversity in the workforce contributes to creativity, productivity, and innovation. Everyone’s experiences should inform and guide the direction of engineering and technical innovation.

In less than 10 years, the United States will need 1.7 million more engineers and computing professionals. We simply can’t afford to ignore the perspectives or the talent of half the population.

Stereotypes and Bias Are Holding Everyone Back

We all hold gender biases, shaped by stereotypes in the wider culture, that affect how we evaluate and treat one another. Several findings detailed in the report shed light on how these stereotypes and biases harm women in engineering and computing.

One study ask science faculty to evaluate résumés that were identical except for the candidates’ names. The researchers found that scientists were more likely to choose a male candidate over an identical female candidate for a hypothetical job opening at a lab. Both female and male scientists also offered a higher salary to the male candidate and were more willing to offer him mentoring opportunities.

In another study, potential employers systematically underestimated the mathematical performance of women compared with men, resulting in the hiring of lower-performing men over higher-performing women for mathematical work.

Show Women That They Are Welcome in These Fields

Women who leave engineering are very similar to women who stay in engineering. The differences are found not in the women themselves but in their workplace environments. Women who left were less likely to have had opportunities for training and development, support from co-workers or supervisors, and support for balancing work and nonwork roles than were women who stayed in the profession.

Women engineers who were most satisfied with their jobs, in contrast, worked for organizations that provided clear paths for advancement, gave employees challenging assignments that helped develop and strengthen new skills, and valued and recognized employees’ contributions. In other words, workplaces with good management practices were more likely to retain women employees.

Harvey Mudd College has dramatically increased the number of women computer science graduates at the school with three simple interventions designed to welcome beginning students into the curriculum rather than weed them out. The college

1. Revised its required introductory computer science course to emphasize broad applications of computer science and accommodate different levels of experience.
2. Provides students with early research opportunities.
3. Sends women students to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

In just five years, the percentage of women Harvey Mudd computer science graduates grew from a historical average of 12 to around 40 percent, while the national average stalled at 18 percent. What if we took the lessons from these efforts and applied them to businesses and K–12 education?

Why Are There Still So Few Women in Engineering Computing?

Watch report co-authors Catherine Hill, AAUW vice president of research, and Christianne Corbett, AAUW senior researcher, discuss Solving the Equation‘s major findings.

Solve the Equation. #addwomen

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Find Solving the Equation

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, 2015

At Conferences and Workplaces

The findings and recommendations of Solving the Equation are also reaching researchers, students, corporations, and professional groups. AAUW has presented at events and workplaces all over the country to share insight about recruiting and retaining women in engineering and computing. Since Solving the Equation’s release in March 2015, AAUW has presented at the U.S. News and World Report’s Energy That Works: Girl Power summit, the National Academies of Science, WEPAN (the Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network), Microsoft, Samsung, Google, and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

AAUW also presented Solving the Equation’s findings at our own national, state, and student conferences in 2015.

Our Supporters

Solving the Equation is made possible by these generous supporters: the National Science Foundation, Research on Gender in Science and Engineering award 1420214; AT&T; and the Mooneen Lecce Giving Circle.

By: AAUW National   |   Issue: Career and Workplace   |   Tags: Research, Social Justice, STEM

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