Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Women in Engineering - A Qualitative Study on Womens’ Experiences in an International Engineering Company

Paulsson, Jessica LU ; Pengu, Elsa LU and Sukaj, Tanja LU (2022) IBUH19 20221
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
This paper examines the experiences of women working in the field of engineering. The specific focus of this qualitative interview study is female employees in a factory at an international engineering company. Previous studies have found that women face major barriers to success in the profession, including gender bias in recruitment processes (Kessler, Low & Sullivan, 2019), lower chances of obtaining promotion compared to male counterparts (Yates & Skinner, 2021), and more difficulties in finding work-life balance when pursuing the profession (Chew, Atay and Bayraktaroglu, 2020; Crutchfield 2017). Our study found that the perceptions amongst women in engineering vary, but that there are common denominators, such as expressing mostly... (More)
This paper examines the experiences of women working in the field of engineering. The specific focus of this qualitative interview study is female employees in a factory at an international engineering company. Previous studies have found that women face major barriers to success in the profession, including gender bias in recruitment processes (Kessler, Low & Sullivan, 2019), lower chances of obtaining promotion compared to male counterparts (Yates & Skinner, 2021), and more difficulties in finding work-life balance when pursuing the profession (Chew, Atay and Bayraktaroglu, 2020; Crutchfield 2017). Our study found that the perceptions amongst women in engineering vary, but that there are common denominators, such as expressing mostly positive experiences of working in male dominated teams yet wishing for more even gender distribution in their teams. Participants describe that male dominated work environments have different social dynamics, with some of the women pointing out challenges in regards to for example the use of vulgar language. Furthermore, our study confirms previous research which found that women struggle with being seen as less capable than their male colleagues in some instances (Yates & Skinner, 2021). The findings of this study contribute to a richer empirical basis for the body of research on the topic, as well as provide practical insights for employers in the industry. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Paulsson, Jessica LU ; Pengu, Elsa LU and Sukaj, Tanja LU
supervisor
organization
course
IBUH19 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
diversity, gender diversity, women in engineering, STEM, diversity recruitment
language
English
id
9084736
date added to LUP
2022-08-01 13:00:41
date last changed
2022-08-01 13:00:41
@misc{9084736,
  abstract     = {{This paper examines the experiences of women working in the field of engineering. The specific focus of this qualitative interview study is female employees in a factory at an international engineering company. Previous studies have found that women face major barriers to success in the profession, including gender bias in recruitment processes (Kessler, Low & Sullivan, 2019), lower chances of obtaining promotion compared to male counterparts (Yates & Skinner, 2021), and more difficulties in finding work-life balance when pursuing the profession (Chew, Atay and Bayraktaroglu, 2020; Crutchfield 2017). Our study found that the perceptions amongst women in engineering vary, but that there are common denominators, such as expressing mostly positive experiences of working in male dominated teams yet wishing for more even gender distribution in their teams. Participants describe that male dominated work environments have different social dynamics, with some of the women pointing out challenges in regards to for example the use of vulgar language. Furthermore, our study confirms previous research which found that women struggle with being seen as less capable than their male colleagues in some instances (Yates & Skinner, 2021). The findings of this study contribute to a richer empirical basis for the body of research on the topic, as well as provide practical insights for employers in the industry.}},
  author       = {{Paulsson, Jessica and Pengu, Elsa and Sukaj, Tanja}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Women in Engineering - A Qualitative Study on Womens’ Experiences in an International Engineering Company}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}