– The women in the study on average entered chemical engineering with credentials equal to or better than those of the men, but exhibited erosion relative to the men in both academic performance and confidence as they progressed through the curriculum.
– Women in engineering school face obstacles that keep them from competing with their male counterparts on an equal footing.
– Most engineering courses require individual work and grades are assigned on a competitive basis, whereas women tend to be more comfortable in an environment that stresses cooperation, a tendency consistent with the strong enthusiasm for group work expressed by the women in this study.
– Perhaps due to repeated devaluation of their contributions or to a learned tendency to defer to men in intellectual matters, the women played less active roles than the men in their groups. (This assertion is based on the women’s own estimation and is supported by observation of videotaped group sessions.) Also, many more men than women felt that group work benefited them most by giving them opportunities to explain material to others, while more women felt that having material explained to them was the greatest benefit.
– Women were far more likely than men to complain that their contributions in group work were undervalued. These feelings, which undoubtedly had some basis in reality, were bound to diminish the women’s self-confidence.
– Throughout the period of the study, men who failed a chemical engineering course were more likely than women to repeat the course and remain in the curriculum, while women who failed a course were more likely to switch out of chemical engineering.
– Of those who persisted in the curriculum, men were significantly more inclined than women to express an intention of going to graduate school.
– The women in the study entered the engineering curriculum with greater anxiety and lower confidence in their preparation than did the men. They began the first course with higher expectations of themselves, but by the midpoint of the first chemical engineering course their expectations were lower and the disparity persisted throughout the curriculum. As they proceeded through the curriculum, the men consistently expressed higher self-assessments of their abilities to solve basic engineering problems, problems that required creativity, and computer problems. The gender difference in self-assessed ability to solve problems creatively became more pronounced as the students approached graduation. The women were more likely than the men to attribute poor performance to their own lack of ability and the men were more likely to attribute it to a lack of hard work or being treated unfairly. Conversely, the men were more likely than the women to attribute success to their ability and the women more likely to attribute it to outside help.
– The authors conclude with four suggestions: 1. Provide engineering students with female role models and mentors. 2. Strengthen organizations that can provide career guidance and emotional support to women students, such as student chapters of the Society of Women Engineers, and encourage participation in these organizations. 3. Use cooperative learning in engineering courses, structured to provide equal benefits to men and women. 4. Educate professors and academic advisors to the problems and needs of women students.