Advocates for gender equity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) often focus on one of two areas: recruitment or retention. Those working on recruiting more women into STEM professions may be addressing issues extending as far back as early childhood education. An early introduction to STEM can lead to a developing interest in pursuing a STEM education, greater confidence in math and science ability, and a budding STEM identity.
Recruitment also involves removing systemic barriers along the educational path. This would include increasing the number of STEM role models for young women and combating stereotypes that decision-makers such as teachers and college advisors may have about women that then influences women’s decisions to pursue STEM degrees. These stereotypes can also affect how students of all genders interact with female students.
Retention, on the other hand, is really about tackling the systemic barriers that push women out of STEM professions. Don’t be fooled: Most of these women are not leaving the workforce to care for children. A study on why women leave STEM, specifically the male-dominated field of engineering, found that almost 70% said they were still working after leaving engineering. The top reasons for leaving? Working conditions and organizational climate. Many women stated that they had lost interest in their work, that they did not like the culture within their organizations and that they did not see a path towards career advancement.
This is not solely experienced by women engineers. A Kelly Services survey of global STEM talent found that 27% of women in the U.S. feel like their careers are stalled, and 32% are likely to leave their STEM job within a year. In Brazil and India, the percentage of women reporting feeling like their careers were stalled was even higher. Women in the study reported experiencing feelings of exclusion, double standards and bias in performance evaluations. Among women who had reached senior-level positions in STEM, many reported pessimistic feelings about women’s advancement opportunities within their organizations, stating that women would never get a top position no matter how able or high-performing they are.
What is leading to these feelings of frustration and disillusionment when it comes to career advancement in STEM? McKinsey & Company wrote about the “broken rung” in its 2019 “Women in the Workplace” report, noting that it isn’t really a glass ceiling keeping women from top level positions. Rather, it’s that first step into management, where fewer women are becoming managers compared to men, that leads to a diminishing pool of female talent from which to draw senior leaders. As stated in the report, “there are simply too few women to advance” into executive positions.
Although the McKinsey report was about women’s leadership across all sectors, it helps to explain why women in STEM believe their careers are stalled.
The potential for career advancement is an important factor employees consider when choosing to stay in their chosen profession. A recent survey by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) found that 24% of women cited growth potential as the primary reason for staying with their current employer. Another 23% indicated it was the empowering work culture at their organizations. Less than 10% said salary was keeping them from leaving.
There are issues that need to be addressed to combat gender inequities in hiring, pay and performance evaluations, but studies like SWE’s highlight the need for organizations to pay attention to their process for identifying employees with leadership potential as a way to retain diverse STEM talent.
Researchers at Pinsight note that women are often prevented from accessing professional development opportunities, networking opportunities, executive coaching and special assignments because their leadership potential is overlooked. Women are being held back early in their careers, and over time it results in fewer and fewer women promoted into senior executive levels. To stop this, organizations must honestly look at how they are identifying the next generation of leaders, and who they are preparing for promotion opportunities.
Roberta Rincon is the associate director of research at the Society of Women Engineers. More of her writing and research can be found here.
Editor's Note: Machine Design's Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) hub compiles our coverage of gender representation issues affecting the engineering field, in addition to contributions from equity seeking groups and subject matter experts within various subdisciplines. Click here for more.