Intersections of gender and race in engineering education

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on women studying engineering in the undergraduate academic environment, the need to recognize that changes are needed in the engineering classrooms, and the need to think about women as a diverse group. Results from this study show some interesting and statistically significant differences among women by race/ethnicity. T-test comparisons of means on questions related to classroom environments indicate that African American women report greater comfort asking questions in class and meeting professors for help than Hispanic, Native American, Asian American and white women. Meanwhile, Native American women are less likely than all other racial/ethnic groups to indicate comfort meeting with professors and asking questions in class. Even though African American women indicate greater comfort asking questions in class, they have a lower opinion that professors are good teachers compared to Hispanic, Native American and white women. In addition, while many of the women in the study are from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in engineering, African American women are the most likely to report that they have been singled out unfairly in class because of their race/ethnicity: more likely than Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American women. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.