Female engineering students’ experiences and career decisions: A case study in a regional Australian university

Abstract

Engineering is traditionally viewed as a male-dominated profession with a gender bias. The purpose of this study was to understand the motivations and reasons why women decide to take an engineering major, and the experiences and challenges faced by women in engineering. Guided by social cognitive career theory, this study addressed two research questions: why female university students decide to enrol in engineering programmes as their university major and degree-seeking programme, in regional Australian universities; and how female university students describe their career decision-making process(es) and experience(s) as women and gender minorities in the field of engineering, in regional Australian universities and communities. The results indicate that academic interests and goals, and gender-based social cognitive modelling and self-efficacy encouragement were key to their successful career development and behaviour. The study will allow policymakers and departmental heads to reform and improve current human resources planning.