Episode Transcript
Welcome, my engineering friends, to my 3-part miniseries for women engineers, the bosses they work for and the workplaces that support them.
Part I is from the women engineers’ perspective.
Part II is from the managers’ perspective.
This episode is Part III. And explores the support of women engineers from the organization’s perspective.
If you’re an organizational leader, in high level management or the C-suite, this episode is for you.
The workplace climate plays a big role in the retention of women in engineering.
So let’s consider the systems and structures in industry, government or academia.
And let’s discuss what in the workplace environment needs to change.
Your Engineering Workplace Would Be Different if Women were Involved in the Design
Not all engineering workplaces are the same. That’s obvious.
Depending on the mission, your organization may have a manufacturing environment, lab space or a workshop. It may be an office or a virtual environment.
The design of your workplace serves the mission. It was built or arranged according to the needs of the organization.
In some cases it houses expensive equipment that was carefully selected and installed.
Your workplace systems have been set up to optimize the processes that serve the customer.
Most the time you don’t question it. People come to work here and learn how to make best use of the workplace.
But when your workplace was developed and set up, I’m guessing there weren’t many women involved.
It had – and still has – some physical, systematic and cultural aspects that were developed by men for men.
Old norms and practices are still around that are outdated or no longer appropriate.
No wrong intentions here. Just that some things would be different if women were part of the team in the beginning.
The good news is you can make changes in your organization to improve your workplace environment.
Engineering Workplace Deficiencies Bring Stress to Your Workers
In particular, there are 3 areas you should assess:
- Workspace design and equipment – to make sure they’re safe and ergonomic for all workers
- Work policies – to make sure they’re sufficient to meet the needs of all workers
- Practices and behaviors – to make sure they’re not biased or exclusionary.
Here are some examples of workplace deficiencies that I’ve encountered here and there throughout my career as an engineer:
- Personal safety equipment that doesn’t fit
- Processing equipment that’s not ergonomically correct
- Office furniture and equipment that are not ergonomically correct
- Lack of women’s restrooms
- Storage areas that are too hard to reach
- No lab coats in women’s sizes
- No guidance for family-friendly work policies
- No help with finding child care
- No private area for nursing mothers
- Limited flexibility for work hours
- Biased expectations for new parents
- Biased assumptions about women in engineering
- Funding approval processes that are exclusionary
- Appointment and award processes that are exclusionary
These are the kinds of things I’m talking about. They’re not glaring deficiencies. But they’re perceptible enough to cause some angst for the women who work there.
It’s not enough to keep women from doing their jobs. But it’s enough to keep them from doing their jobs with ease.
It causes a little bit of stress every day. Day after day.
There’s a certain amount of extra work required to overcome this daily stress.
You may not have experienced it. So it might seem trivial.
But it’s like driving in the fog or running against the wind: You can do it, but it takes additional effort. A little more focus and energy.
And over time, that extra effort is exhausting.
In the end, many women leave engineering jobs – or even the profession altogether.
Not because they dislike the work they were hired to do. But because they dislike the environment in which they’re required to do it.
It’s hard to establish a thriving career when that uncomfortableness surrounds you every day.
Women don’t want to have to worry about these things.
Just like all engineers, they are concerned about learning the job. Excelling at what they do. Moving up in the organization. Contributing and making a difference.
The workplace should be supporting them so they can do these things.
What’s Working for Women in the Engineering Workplace
I look back at my own career and realize women did a lot of accommodating. We put up with stuff.
Because we thought we had to. Because we wanted to be there.
Today most of the workplace deficiencies I listed above are pretty obvious. And it’s remarkable to me that any of them still exist.
But indeed there are engineering workplaces that are lacking in their support for women.
Then again there are workplaces that are aware and making changes. And some things are working. Like,
- Women are speaking up before giving up. And organizations are listening and taking action.
- Organizations are providing more support through employee resource groups.
- Organizational leadership is holding managers accountable re an inclusive environment.
- There’s more flexibility in work policies and more guidance on their implementation.
- Leaders and managers are becoming bias aware and applying proactive inclusion practices.
- Leaders are more open to different styles and approaches to leadership, communication and problem solving.
I hope you can boast some of this list in your workplace. It’s a minimum standard that all engineering workplaces should be striving for.
Women are paying more attention to work environments during the job search process.
You want to show them these signs of support. So that you’re not missing out on some good talent.
That talent will be motivated to work for you. Be more engaged. And stay with the organization.
I’d love to help you transform your workplace to positively impact engineering careers for women.
Learn more about STEM Workplace Transformation and fill out an application here.
This ends the miniseries on women engineers, the bosses they work for, and the organizations that support them.
Full transcripts for Part I and Part II are also available.
I encourage you to check out all Her Engineering Career Podcast episodes here or on your favorite podcast app.
And finally I invite you to check out my new blog on STEM Workplace Transformation, covering topics to help you enhance engagement, innovation and business outcomes.
The STEM Workplace Transformation Blog is coming soon to HerEngineeringCareer.com/blog.