Engineers’ self-perceived employability by gender and age: Implications for higher education

Abstract

Due to the multiple barriers that prevent women from pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers, there is a persistent gender gap in these fields in many countries around the globe. Considering this, the purpose of this study was to compare the self-perceived employability among men and women, as well as to understand how it changes depending on age and employment status. For such purpose, an online questionnaire was administered to 505 senior students and recent graduates from five engineering programs offered by a higher education institution in Colombia. The relationships between the variables were examined using Pearson’s correlation test, data on women and men were compared using the t- Student test, and the interaction between gender and age was analyzed via factorial analysis of variance. According to the results, men had different and higher means than women, but these differences were not statistically significant. In terms of gender, the largest effect size was reported for the career resilience and optimism at work skills. Regarding employment status, employed respondents had different and higher means than unemployed respondents, and these differences were found to be statistically significant. These ground-breaking findings may help universities, organizations, and governments in the development of policies and strategies to draw and keep women in STEM careers. Importantly, it is imperative to focus on women’s career transition and advancement because their employability skills are just as strong as men’s, but they are less confident and less likely to achieve their career goals.