Show Notes
Last week we wrapped up the series on skills for women engineers with Mastering Meetings to Vitalize Your Engineering Career. And now we’re starting a series on some of the top challenges for women engineers. Today we’re discussing the reasons why women leave engineering and, nevertheless, why you should stay.
In their November 2019 Research Update, “Women in Engineering by the Numbers,” the Society of Women Engineers reported that:
- Only 13% of engineers are women.
- Female engineers earn 10% less than male engineers.
- Only 30% of women who earn bachelor’s degrees in engineering are still working in engineering 20 years later.
The numbers are depressing and haven’t improved much in decades (in all of my career).
There are some good reasons why you might give up and leave the profession. But I’m betting that one of the reasons is not that you can’t do the job. That you don’t love being an engineer. Or that you don’t have lots of good ideas and potential.
In fact, the report goes on to say that
- 30% of women who have left the engineering profession cite organizational climate as the reason.
I am not surprised by this at all. The organizational climate – or the work environment – has always been a challenge for me. And it’s probably been a challenge for you, too.
A 2017 survey by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers was referenced in a recent University Affairs article by Diane Peters. The article reported that
“one in two women feel disrespected on the job, one in three get paid less than men, and one in four experience discrimination, harassment or bullying.”
In my experience, the engineering work environment is typically not what women expect it to be. The engineering work environment was designed by men for men. It lacks diversity and inclusion. It reminds me every day that, as a woman, I don’t belong.
The organizational climate often doesn’t accommodate women. It enables biases against women. It tolerates me, but doesn’t welcome me. It allows me to survive but not thrive.
I can almost hear you saying, yep, that’s what it’s like. It’s hard to work like this. Even though they don’t have anything to do with my engineering abilities, all these work environment issues wear away at me little by little, every day.
It’s like constantly running against the wind or driving in the fog. I can see how many women decide that it would be easier just to quit and do something else.
(More numbers on the status of women in STEM, and specifically women in engineering, are available from an article by the US Census Bureau.)
I of course want to convince you to stay in engineering. Stay because you’re good at what you do. You love being an engineer. And you have lots of good ideas and potential.
Stay because we need you. We need you to be an expert and a leader. We need you to be one of the key decision makers.
Remember that there are ways to make your engineering career all you want it to be. There are ways to fulfill your career vision.
If you could do this, it might change how the organizational climate affects you. It might even change the organizational climate.
There are ways to foster your courage and confidence, garner credibility and recognition, and become the expert and leader you’ve always wanted to become. We can work on that together. I encourage you to check out my signature program.
Top 10 Reasons Why We Need Women Engineers
Here are my Top 10 reasons why we need women engineers. Why we need you. It’s to remind you what you bring. It’s to remind you of the impact you have.
We need you because
- Your knowledge and expertise improve products and push the leading edge.
- Your work outcomes serve customers’ needs.
- Your tenacity is helping to solve the toughest engineering problems.
- Your collaboration skills take the team a step beyond.
- Your work ethic motivates colleagues to be their best selves.
- Your mentorship is encouraging to the future leaders of the organization.
- Your work-life balance instills values in our workforce.
- Your perspective expands other perspectives and enhances innovation.
- Your leadership is inspiring and propels people along the paths of their own career visions.
- Your courage is helping pave the way for more women in engineering.
Thanks for all you do as an engineer. And in case no one has told you recently, you’re very much appreciated.
Recap: We began this episode with the disturbing numbers about the status of women in engineering. We then discussed the corresponding reasons why women leave the profession.
To wrap up the discussion I offered my top 10 reasons why we need women in engineering and why I want you to stay.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast the topic will be the late career plateau, a very common – but not often discussed – challenge for women engineers. Join me next time for Episode 17.