Women’s Leadership in Engineering: Defying Bias (#651)

Authors

Contreras-Ortiz, Sonia Helena

Montoya-Noguera, Silvana

García De Cajen, Silvia Beatriz

Abstract

Globally, women are underrepresented in leadership positions in the workforce, and the gender gap is more prominent in male-dominated fields like engineering. We used a questionnaire to investigate the main barriers and assistance women and men in engineering have in their path to leadership. A total of 79 responses that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. We found that balancing work and home life, devaluing their achievements, and discouragement from peers and superiors are the main barriers to leadership for both genders. Notably, women were about 5 times more likely to experience blatant gender bias and 4 times more likely to receive disparaging comments about their gender than men. 80% of women and 10% of men reported having experienced gender bias at work. This study shows that holding a leadership position in engineering can be more challenging for women than for men because of gender bias and highlights the importance of a positive working environment to promote leadership in women and contribute to gender equality