Abstract on "Chapter 7-Promoting Science and Engineering Careers in Industry
Author(s):
Esther M. Conwell
Studies show that more women hold bachelor's degrees than
advanced degrees in science and engineering. Women make up only
16% of the scientists and engineers employed in industry, with
28% of those being scientists, and only 4% being engineers.
Studies also show that women are more likely to be unemployed
or underutilized. Once employed, women are more likely to have
lower salaries than their male counterparts and face barriers
to vertical and horizontal movement in the corporate
structure.
These trends however, are slowly being reversed as companies
are faced with a need to recruit, retain and develop the
talents of the women in science and engineering. The top levels
of management have begun to recognize the importance of
diversity in the workplace especially in the face of declining
numbers in the traditional white male pool. Many companies have
instituted successful intervention programs with one or more of
the following characteristics:
- high level support, up to and including the CEO
level.
- mentoring programs that are institutionalized and
continuing.
- internal women's self-help and networking groups.
- a corporate culture that permits job options such as flex
time, part time, job sharing, and work at home.
- efforts to create gender sensitivity in the workplace,
e.g. training programs on "diversity" and gender-related
issues,and making managers accountable for these issues.
- incorporating program evaluations that keep data on
recruitment, retention rates, and attitudes of women toward
their work.
Sample Programs
The CWSE 1991 conference on S&E interventions showcased
programs in three manufacturing companies: Hughes Aircraft
Company, Corning, and Xerox.
Hughes Aircraft Company
The company has improved recruitment rates by:
- increasing visibility of career opportunities within the
company for women engineers and scientists.
- increasing interaction with other companies and
industries.
- increased involvement in the community and pro-active
women's organizations.
The company focuses on groups and their interrelationships
rather than on individuals. Hughes has also tried to develop
mentoring strategies and networking groups to attract and
retain women.
Corning Corporation
Corning conducts "climate surveys" of employee attitudes
every two years. In 1987, the company survey indicated that the
women, particularly women in the Research, Development and
Engineering (RD&E) divisions, had much lower job
satisfaction than the men. It was found that the attrition rate
of women was three times that of men, and as a result the
company established several programs to reduce this high
attrition rate and to recruit more women. Some of these
were:
- establishing the Corning Professional Women's forum to
provide a network for women employees.
- the creation of targets for increasing the number of
women in higher level jobs.
- the provision of quality child care services for all
employees through a Parental Resource and Referral
Center.
- confidential counseling for women by an outside
consultant.
- career planning and management systems that enable all
individuals to exercise more control over their own
careers.
- mentoring programs for women and minorities to enhance
their integration into the corporate culture.
- part-time and flex time policies for salaried
employees.
- mandatory workshops for all RD&E employees that
address gender related issues in the workplace.
Corning addressed the "glass ceiling" problem through:
- early identification of high-potential women and
minorities
- assigning supervisors with the responsibility of
providing job opportunities to identified employees within a
specified time
- requiring supervisors to prepare adequately for career
development discussions with the employee during
appraisals.
Corning has also created programs and workshops to heighten
awareness about women's work concerns, and made it easier to
arrange flex-time options. By using these interventions,
Corning had reduced the attrition rate of women by a factor of
three by 1991.
Xerox Corporation
Xerox has been recognized for being successful in its
recruitment of underrepresented minorities, particularly during
the 1970s and 1980s. This was accomplished by setting goals for
minority hiring and promotion, and establishing minority
self-help groups. To enhance its recruitment and retention
programs for women, Xerox set up a Women's Council to advise
the company's vice-president. Xerox also developed a "Balanced
Work Force Strategy;" a system of calculated numerical targets
for all employee groups in all job categories, levels,
functional areas, and operating units. The managers at Xerox
are also urged to stress results rather than time spent in the
office.
Other corporate initiatives:
- Recruitment Programs
- Summer internships for outstanding women and minority
undergraduate students.
- Engineering co-op programs to give mechanical and
industrial engineering students experience in biomedical,
research, industrial, and development engineering.
- Scholarships for women and minorities in engineering,
science, and computer science.
- Participation in meetings of professional organizations,
such as the National Society of Black Engineers and Society
of Women Engineers.
Retention
- Sensitizing managers to affirmative action and equal
opportunity requirements.
- Financially assisting minority and women employees in
obtaining advanced degrees to facilitate their rise within
the corporate structure.
- Encouraging women to seek non-traditional jobs in order
to strengthen their managerial skills and to prepare them for
advancement opportunities.
- Providing child care assistance.
Evaluation of Interventions
Evaluation of the interventions involves:
- ensuring that options offered to employees are realistic
and viable, e.g. that choosing a part-time option is not
viewed as "political suicide."
- keeping statistics on the numbers of women and
underrepresented minorities at the various ranks and
categorizing the statistics according to the length of
service, productivity and salary.
- conducting "climate surveys" on employment
attitudes.
Future directions
To achieve the same level of participation of women in
industrial employment as there are in academic and government
sectors more directed programs of strategic and sustained
efforts are required. Four suggestions were offered to guide
the future direction of present programs:
- Women should be given incentives to seek employment in
industry.
- Women should band together in self-help groups within
their companies.
- Companies should allow maximum flexibility in working
conditions and benefits consistent with getting the job done
well.
- Companies should expand the pool from which they recruit
entry-level employees.
The author concludes that these measures may have only a
marginal effect towards increasing the number of positions
filled by women given the present state of the economy (summer
1992). However, they help make the workplace more hospitable,
and lead towards improvements for both women and men.
Esther M. Conwell Research Fellow at
Xerox Research Laboratories, Webster New York, member of the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of
Engineering