Although researchers have tried to understand why women are less likely to become engineers and the social and institutional biases that keep girls and women away from engineering, none have truly examined the current situation within the context of the 1970s, a time when women's entry into engineering seemed most promising but failed to gain traction. This project adds new knowledge about the career trajectories and experiences of women engineers (of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and geographic locations) who graduated from college in the 1970s. The PI surveyed 251 women engineers from that generation and conducted in-depth oral history interviews with 47 of them.

As Ettinger et al. (2019) explain, these women "offer important perspectives on the challenges facing women engineers in the past and today. The beneficiaries of new affirmative action and equal opportunity programs when they began their education and careers, these women have, and had, heterogeneous perspectives and experiences. Gender is not the lens through which all of them see their experiences, and some focused on the benefits of engineering to women and in general. Many reported that once in the field, they encountered interactional [interpersonal] and structural gender barriers to their success, citing, in particular, the challenges of not getting respect, not fitting in, and work/family balance. Yet most, even those who pointed out such challenges, encouraged young women to pursue engineering because of the rewards and opportunities the field provides. Most also found individual solutions, out of necessity, to the problems they faced. The perspectives and experiences of this generation of women engineers help us to understand how we have gotten to a place where women are still so underrepresented in the field of engineering, as well as the strategies women in the field have adopted, or sometimes felt forced to adopt, to navigate their careers and lives." (p. 236)

The grant supported the training and professional development of three research assistants: one recent PhD and two with a recent BA/BS who were planning to apply for social sciences graduate programs.

This grant resulted in the publication of one peer-reviewed article in the journal Engineering Studies (2019) and one invited article in the Society of Women Engineers Magazine (2018). The Engineering Studies article was awarded the inaugural Martha Trescott Prize for an outstanding published historical essay in the area of women in technology, by the Society for the History of Technology. Research results were presented at seven conferences and seminars in the U.S., Canada, and Sweden (plus an additional one cancelled due to COVID-19). The long-term plan is to publish a book based on the oral histories. This book should interest engineers, historians, K-12 and university STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educators, policy makers, people who want to create opportunities for young women in STEM fields, as well as those who are interested in people who carve out non-traditional paths.

The PI worked with Uncommon Image Studios, as well as Clarkson's Horizons STEM summer camp, to create three educational videos and a documentary, featuring six of the trailblazing women engineers she interviewed for this project. The educational videos and documentary are available on the Inspire! website. 

Inspire! is a collection of three short educational videos (3-5 minutes each) designed to inspire middle and early high school students, especially girls, to pursue STEM fields:

• Encourage! Leading Women Engineers Encourage the Next Generation
• Motivate! Motivational Messages from Accomplished Women Engineers
• Educate! What is an Engineer? Perspectives of Trailblazing Women Engineers

The videos are accompanied by a discussion guide, created in collaboration with Clarkson's Institute for STEM Education as well as two New York State (NYS) Master Teachers, for teachers, guidance counselors, Scout leaders, Robotics, Girls Who Code, etc. club advisors, and others to use with their students.

The short documentary (19:18 minutes), Trailblazers: The Untold Stories of Six Women Engineers, tells the stories of six trailblazing women engineers (the same women who are featured in the educational videos) as they share their experiences overcoming obstacles and paving the way for the next generation. Their stories help us to understand how individual women in engineering navigated the challenges they encountered, and how institutions might work to address those challenges. Trailblazers, which received an Award of Merit from The Impact DOCS Competition, is aimed at adults and older high school students of all interests and backgrounds.

In December 2020, Clarkson University and the NYS Master Teacher Program co-sponsored a virtual premiere of the educational videos, with approximately 250 people, mostly K-12 teachers, registered for the event. We shared the three short educational videos and then moved into breakout rooms, facilitated by NYS Master Teachers, to discuss how the videos could be used with students. The six trailblazers attended the event and participated in the breakout room discussions. We are planning similar events in the future.

Last Modified: 01/15/2021
Modified by: Laura Ettinger