Exploring female enrollment and outcomes in chemical engineering and their experiences in pursuit of a career in STEM

Abstract

The need for more engineers in Jamaica has increased in recent times. Recognizing that females are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), more efforts are being made to encourage females to pursue careers in STEM. Although engineering continues to be male dominated, there are a few engineering disciplines with relatively high female participation. Chemical engineering (ChE) is one of these engineering disciplines. In this study, gender differences in enrollment and persistence in ChE, the quality of degree obtained on completion and the job placement of female graduates were investigated. A survey was used to obtain qualitative information on factors that influence females to study ChE, and their gender-related experiences as students and STEM employees. The main findings revealed that females represented 41% of ChE intake, had higher rates of degree completion, were motivated by male role models to pursue engineering, and few females experienced some forms of gender-based discrimination in STEM employment. Based on the study, strategies were suggested to improve the number of females in STEM and to address the issues of gender bias in STEM employment.