Being a female engineer: identity construction and resistance of women in engineering schools
Year: 2006
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Compared to other professions, women's representation in engineering professions\nis considerably lower than men's, and this particular situated-ness or locality makes women\nexperience a unique process of identity construction. Using qualitative methods - two\nfocus group meetings, nineteen autobiographical essays, and twenty two individual\ninterviews, this research focuses on what women learn from their experiences in\nengineering school, and how they respond to their perceived experiences. This study\nproposes to delineate (a) the dynamic interaction between women and the social structure\nof engineering school; (b) women's perception and conceptualization of the social structure\nthey practice; and (c) women's strategic responses to the structure leading to identity\nconstruction. Becoming an engineer is problematic for women because the identity of\n"engineer" is based upon hegemonic ideas developed by previous generations of engineers\n- men. This research explores how women, standing in the borderline of being women and being engineers, account and construct their identities as women engineers. Sometimes\nwomen are subtly or not subtly coerced; sometimes they embrace dominant ideas;\nsometimes they creatively resist dominant approaches.
Author: Hyejin Chu
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2276208176