Collaborative Research: Gender Diversity, Identity, and EWB-USA
Summary
This engineering education research project seeks to learn why the engineering service organization Engineers Without Borders is successful at attracting a large number of women volunteers and thus better understand the factors that can help recruit women into engineering degree programs. The project uses the constructs of self-efficacy and outcome beliefs to examine why individuals make choices about engineering degree programs and future career paths.
The broader significance and importance of this project will be to potentially inform engineering educators and policy makers about why women, who are significantly under-represented in engineering, are attracted to some engineering organizations but not engineering degree programs in general. The study will also shed light on why women who obtain engineering degrees may choose not use take advantage of that degree by following an engineering career. Given the large personal and societal investment in engineering degrees, this may have far-reaching impact on the number of engineers in the United States.
Funding
National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Engineering Education and Centers
Mortenson Center for Engineering for Developing Communities Graduate Research Assistantship
Database
We encourage use of our methods for expansion and validation of the findings. In addition, if you would like access to the survey data set from our studies, please contact: amy.javernick@colorado.edu.
Research Questions
Research Methods
Results
Results are presented below for each of the different data collection and analysis methods.
Open-ended Questionnaires
505 respondents answered an open-ended questionnaire at EWB-USA conferences:
Results from analysis #1:
- Females showed statistically more identification with EWB-USA than males
- EWB-USA may be helping members, particularly females, gain a sense of belonging with engineering
Results from analysis #2:
- EWB-USA supplements needs and fills in educational gaps
- Females identified engineers’ need for a global perspective more than males
- Females reported many more gains than males
- Females more frequently identified gains in technical skills, problem solving, and relationships than males
Needs | Gaps | Gains | |
---|---|---|---|
Technical Skills | 56.5 | 7.1 | 6.9 (*F) |
Interpersonal Skills | 31.7 | 15.7 | 7.1 |
Problem Solving | 19.8 | 5 | 6.3 (*F) |
Societal Awareness | 18.6 | 5.4 | 5.7 |
Global Perspective | 12.8 (*F) | 11.1 | 24.4 |
Project Management | 10.8 | 9.6 | 18.5 |
Experience and Application | 10.6 | 37.6 | 19.9 |
Relationships | 0.8 | 1.9 | 20.3 (*F) |
Total n | 499 | 479 | 492 |
* Indicatoes statiscally significant difference, p<0.05 by gender, top three responses in bold
Qualitative Research Participants
Survey Participants
- 2,674 engineers
- 25% involved with EWB-USA
- 30% engineering students
- Solicited from ASCE, ASME, EWB, and SWE
Answers to Main Research Question
Characteristics
- EWB-USA members and non-members have similar engineering interests, intrinsic motivations, and personality traits of conscientiousness and emotional stability
- EWB-USA members have broader interests, more altruistic motivations, and are more agreeable & open to experience
Learning
- EWB-USA members and non-members have equivalent perceptions of their level of technical skill abilities
- EWB-USA members perceived themselves to have higher professional skill abilities than non-EWB members, which may be due to increased complex and contextualized design experiences
Careers
- EWB-USA members and non-members have similar interests in and experience with engineering research and graduate school
- EWB-USA members have higher interest in and experience with engineering project management, public policy, government or law, and NGO work doing community development
- Two cautions to the field: EWB-USA students may be disillusioned about work roles available to them, particularly females; EWB-USA members may not find their work roles as meaningful as non-members
Articles
- Litchfield, K. and Javernick-Will, A. (2015). “‘I am an Engineer AND’: A Mixed-Methods Study of Socially Engaged Engineers.” Journal of Engineering Education. 104 (4), 393-416. doi: 10.1002/jee.20102
- Litchfield, K. and Javernick-Will, A. (2016). “‘Socially Engaged Engineers’ Career Interests and Experiences: A Miner’s Canary.” Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education. 143 (1), 4016018. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000303.
- Litchfield, K. and Javernick-Will, A. (2016). “Social Appeal: Service Activities May Attract a More Altruistic, Broad-Minded Group to Engineering”. PRISM, JEE Selects, 39.
- Litchfield, K., Javernick-Will, A., and Maul, A. (2016). “Technical and Professional Skills of Engineers Involved and Not Involved in Engineering Service.” Journal of Engineering Education. 105 (1), 70-92. doi: 10.1002/jee.20109