All STEM Women Are Not the Same? Unpacking the Gender Identities of Women in Engineering

• In Event: Researching Gendered Learning, STEM, and Equity Across Systems

Abstract

This quantitative study utilizes an intersectional analytic lens to examine the gender identities of a diverse sample of 660 college women studying engineering across the U.S., specifically considering their views on gender centrality, and female and male typicality. Results reveal that respondents generally view their gender as important to their sense of self; and while they are pursuing a gender atypical subject, they do not view themselves as fundamentally different from other women, nor as more similar to men. Importantly, results also reveal that gender centrality and relationships among these identity measures vary by women’s racialized identities and socioeconomic status. As such, this study provides new insights into the heterogeneity of gender identities among women in this male-dominated field.

Authors

• Ursula Nguyen, The University of Texas at Austin

• Catherine C. Riegle-Crumb, The University of Texas