Episode Transcript
As I post this episode we’re heading into a new year. Happy new year to you. I hope you’ll make this the year of your engineering career.
You’ve noticed that many women leave engineering well before they reach their potential. Often it’s between early and mid career. But sometimes it’s later.
It’s unfortunate that we lose their talent.
You’re looking to continue in engineering successfully. How can you get beyond that point where others decide to leave and realize the career of your dreams? A career that brings you joy and fulfillment?
Let’s explore some ideas to support you in this quest.
Let’s find out what’s different for those women who stick it out and become engineers who are not just proficient but influential. Women engineers who become confident and game-changing leaders.
The Disappointing Numbers of Women Who Leave Engineering
You’re quite aware of the disappointing numbers of women in engineering. It’s one of the first things you noticed when you entered the workforce.
The retention of women engineers in engineering jobs starts to drop significantly with respect to men engineers around the 10-year mark after graduation from engineering school. And this gender gap continues to widen in the later career years.
You can find a lot of research that analyzes why women leave engineering. Mostly it’s because of organizational climate.
But you already know this. You already know why women leave. You live it every day. You struggle against it. I won’t be surprised if you tell me you’ve thought about leaving yourself.
Today, though, I want to focus on the women who stay. What it is that keeps them there and drives their success.
The Quest for A Long and Successful Engineering Career
There’s not as much research on why women stay. And how they get past that point of inertia and continue on to have awesome engineering careers. What’s in play here that allows that to happen?
It’s not simply what you do. It’s a combination of thinking and action. More to the point it’s a combination of believing and envisioning.
The trick is about believing in yourself and envisioning yourself as a successful engineer.
Women who go on to have successful engineering careers are self-believers.
- They’re confident and competent.
- They have good relationships with their work environment.
- And they identify with the successful engineer role.
But, unless you have an overabundance of confidence, this doesn’t happen all on its own. It takes a favorable work setting to nurture it. It takes a work setting that provides specific and direct kinds of support.
It depends a lot on your organization’s philosophies and the talent of your leadership. Not all work environments are conducive.
Customized Support that Ensures Your Engineering Career Success
But your organization has some promise if it’s providing you some specific types of support. Here are 4 examples of the support you need to ensure your engineering career is a long term, successful endeavor. Notice the subtleties and nuances:
- Support with Caring – By this I mean more than the standard support that bosses are required to give their employees. It’s caring through informal mentoring. And arranging better opportunities for advancement that are tailored to your potential.
It’s practical and emotional support through everyday exchanges with coworkers. It’s support without stereotyping. Support that embraces your competence and ensures your belonging.
- Sincere Feedback – We’ve had a few discussions on the importance of feedback. Once again this is beyond the mundane. Sincere feedback is comprised of honest and specific conversation on what you did well and what you need to work on.
- It encourages you to be led by your strengths.
- It inspires you to improve where you have potential in the context of future opportunity
- It affirms your accomplishments and uniquenesses.
- It urges you to learn from your mistakes and keep trying.
- High Level Tasks and Opportunities – Everyone has opportunities to take on more challenge and compete for higher level positions. But in this case I’m talking about how that happens.
In this case high level tasks are identified and offered according to your strengths and preferences. Taking on a higher level task, for example, is much more valuable to you if it’s designed to build your confidence.
Opportunities are offered that stretch you according to your potential. Being informed about an opportunity is not nearly as supportive as being invited to apply for it.
Both high level tasks and opportunities come with guidance and coaching to embolden you to take the next challenge. And reassurance that you can be successful.
- Role Models – The last type of support comes to you through role models. Role models who are women in engineering and leadership, and who are accessible to you.
As you know, believing in and visualizing your future self is easier when you’ve witnessed the success of other women. When you see that other women engineers who also manage families and other outside activities are thriving in their careers.
It shows you that it’s possible to do the work you love to do in your own situation and style. You learn that you – and everything that comes with you – can embody the role of successful engineer.
These 4 types of support by themselves are not exceptional. It’s the subtleties and nuances that make the difference.
They reinforce your competence and build your confidence. They not only tell you that you belong but make you feel that way.
They’re all things that make you a believer in yourself. And help you envision a future as an engineer that’s in alignment with you and your life.
If you’re looking for ways to ensure your continued success as an engineer, book a strategy session with me. I’d like to help you write your career story and ensure it has a happy ending.
What’s your engineering career vision? Let’s make it happen. You can make that dream a reality.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast I offer my advice on what to do more of to enrich your engineering career. Be sure to tune in for Episode 82.
Reference
Fernando, Dulini; Cohen, Laurie; Duberley, Joanne. “What helps? Women engineers’ accounts of staying on,” Human Resource Management Journal. Jul2018, Vol. 28 Issue 3, p479-495.