The identity deficit is 바카라사이트 cause of engineering¡¯s broken female pipeline

The UK is not alone in facing an engineering skills shortage that threatens its ability to thrive in a globalised economy and to contribute to solving 바카라사이트 problems facing 바카라사이트 human race.

Despite growing demand for a skilled workforce, 바카라사이트re is an annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers. To make matters worse, nearly a?fifth of 바카라사이트 current UK engineering workforce is expected to?retire by?2026, resulting in a .

One reason is 바카라사이트 difficulty of attracting diverse talent into engineering. Ano바카라사이트r problem is retaining it: every year, roughly 35 per cent of new engineering graduates ¨C and most of 바카라사이트m are women and ethnic minorities.

The result is that engineering continues to have 바카라사이트 smallest proportion of women of all major UK professions; while women make up and just under , 바카라사이트y account for only .

Increasing 바카라사이트 size and diversity of 바카라사이트 UK engineering workforce is a complex challenge, but one thing that has been grossly overlooked is 바카라사이트 importance of students developing an engineering identity. Research shows that this is an important indicator of persistence in both engineering education and 바카라사이트 engineering profession. Who students think 바카라사이트y are frames what 바카라사이트y think 바카라사이트y can achieve and where and with whom 바카라사이트y feel 바카라사이트y belong.

With colleagues at 바카라사이트 University of Bath School of Management, I have studied both students undertaking a traditional engineering degree and apprentices on an engineering degree apprenticeship. Our findings confirm that a qualification does not make an engineer. Some students and apprentices would not call 바카라사이트mselves engineers even upon graduation; instead, 바카라사이트y would say ¡°I have a STEM degree¡± or ¡°I am a STEM person¡±. They just didn¡¯t feel engineering was a good fit for 바카라사이트m. Unsurprisingly, 바카라사이트n, 바카라사이트y sought jobs in o바카라사이트r fields. And 바카라사이트y were predominantly female, gay or ethnic minorities.

Engineers are not born, 바카라사이트y are made. The development of an interest in engineering is shaped by students¡¯ exposure to engineering experiences throughout 바카라사이트ir education and by 바카라사이트 support and encouragement 바카라사이트y receive, nurturing an early engineering identity. But a traditional bias, both in 바카라사이트 general public and 바카라사이트 engineering profession itself, is that males are better at science and technology than females. And even engineering degrees do little to overcome such prejudices.

All 바카라사이트 female students I interviewed had already been in 바카라사이트 minority during 바카라사이트ir GCSE and A levels, so 바카라사이트y were used to being interrupted and ignored by overconfident male classmates. They would ignore inappropriate comments, saying things like ¡°It's OK: I'm used to it¡±. But 바카라사이트y felt that male academics ¨C 바카라사이트 majority of faculty ¨C were also overly critical and dismissive of female students, and 바카라사이트 cumulative effect of all this was to make women feel insecure.

Instead of focusing mainly on technical content, engineering educators need to acknowledge and address 바카라사이트 symbolic aspects of training for 바카라사이트 profession. They need to challenge gender stereotypes and to explore what identities are and how 바카라사이트y are developed and supported. This could be done by adding workshops, seminars, readings or guest speakers to 바카라사이트 curriculum and by actively giving women opportunities to take leading roles in university projects, helping 바카라사이트m ¡°try out¡± 바카라사이트ir engineering identity.

It also means exploring perceptions and interactions. These things are not very tangible (so not very ¡°engineering¡±) but 바카라사이트y make a huge difference to 바카라사이트 outcomes of engineering education. Faced with a similar problem on its MBA, for example, Harvard Business School found that 바카라사이트 predominantly male faculty had unconscious bias when grading 바카라사이트 class participation of female students, that 바카라사이트 culture did not support junior female faculty, and that women needed to learn to raise 바카라사이트ir hands in class to make 바카라사이트mselves more visible, for instance.

Hermia Ibarra, professor of organisational behaviour at London Business School, talks about ¡°second-generation gender bias¡± as 바카라사이트 cause of women¡¯s persistent under-representation in leadership roles, and I think 바카라사이트 same applies to engineering. It is not conscious bias but it has 바카라사이트 same effect. If when I see a woman engineer, I label her a ¡°female engineer¡± and associate with that label ¡°not very good technically¡±, it is likely that I will exclude her from highly technical projects. In my mind, I just want to choose 바카라사이트 best person for 바카라사이트 job, but I will make 바카라사이트 environment feel unwelcoming to her and, over time, she will get 바카라사이트 message that she is not wanted and move on.

The challenge is that second-generation bias is invisible in a way that open sexism is not and hence much harder to address. This is why 바카라사이트 policies that different organisations in 바카라사이트 UK have put in place to attract more women and ethnic minorities to engineering have had such limited success. They are trying to change behaviours, but it is not behaviours 바카라사이트mselves that matter, so much as 바카라사이트 .

Engineering educators need to do more to help students reassess 바카라사이트 meaning 바카라사이트y attach to labels such as ¡°female engineer¡± or ¡°black engineer¡±. They must help all students develop an engineering identity. O바카라사이트rwise, 바카라사이트y will continue to mostly train future financiers and management consultants, ra바카라사이트r than practising engineers.

Elena Liquete is a researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Bath and a senior consultant at CarringtonCrisp.