2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Sense of Belonging of Women in Construction: Insights from Focus Groups

Presented at Women in Engineering Division (WIED) Technical Session 1

The sense of belonging of women in male-dominated spheres is a factor that hinders the closing of gender gaps. An extensive body of research that analyzes the sense of belonging of women who work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concludes that the improvement of this factor increases the self-confidence, academic performance, and retention rates of women therein. The field of construction engineering is one of the most male-dominated professions and it is, therefore, important to understand the way in which women who pursue a career in this particular field conceive of their sense of belonging. Furthermore, an evaluation of the experiences of such women and how these have impacted and influenced their career and contributed to their sense of belonging to the field of construction would enhance the aforementioned understanding. Accordingly, this research analyzes the perspectives of women related to a construction engineering program, as students, alumni working in the field, and faculty in a construction program, regarding their sense of belonging. We categorize their experiences and their proposed solutions to improve that sense of belonging of women in the field of construction. Through a qualitative approach, the main findings are reported on three focus groups held with ten women, all students, former students, and teaching professionals from a Construction Engineering degree program at a private Chilean university. This methodology presents results regarding participant perception of their sense of belonging, their positive and negative experiences in an environment related to construction, whether in the campus or work context, and their proposed solutions for enhancing this sense of belonging within the sector. Despite differences in participants' life stages, they all believe that self-confidence, recognition from peers and leaders, social interactions, and knowledge and skills are critical factors that improve their sense of belonging.

Authors

Dr. Monica Quezada-Espinoza http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0383-0179 Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile [biography]

Monica Quezada-Espinoza is a professor and researcher at the School of Engineering at Universidad Andrés Bello in Santiago, Chile, where she collaborates with the Educational and Academic Innovation Unit (UNIDA) as an instructor in active learning methodologies and mentors engineering faculty in educational research. She is the Secretary of the Women in Engineering Division (WIED) of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and an associate researcher in the STEM Latin America Network, specifically in the STEM + Gender group. Her research interests are diverse and focus on university education in STEM fields, faculty and professional development, research-based methodologies, and the use of evaluation tools and technology for education. She is also passionate about investigating conceptual learning in abstract physics topics, developing strategies to improve the retention of first-year engineering students, and enhancing skills and competencies in higher education. Additionally, Monica is dedicated to exploring gender issues in STEM education, with a particular emphasis on studying and proposing improvements for the inclusion of women in highly male-dominated fields. For more information on her work, visit her ORCID profile.
Prof. Marcela Silva Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile [biography]

Marcela Silva is the Academic Director at the Engineering Faculty of the Andres Bello University in Campus Santiago. She works as a teacher in the Construction Engineering career and supports innovation and entrepreneurship courses. She obtained a Bachelo
Dr. Carolina Alvarado California State University, Chico [biography]

Dr. Alvarado is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Science Education at California State University, Chico. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics and a doctorate in Physics Education from Tecnológico de Monterrey. Her work focuses on supporting K-12 teachers to implement culturally responsive scientific practices to empower students. Her approach to teaching physics relies on making connections between scientific practices and society. Dr. Alvarado is the Principal Investigator of an NSF grant that studies socio-metacognition, emotions, and power dynamics when undergraduate physics students engage in collaborative activities that elicit confusion; a collaborative grant with Dr. Thanh Lê at Western Washington University. She is also working in a study that explores STEM faculty implementing Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experiences in introductory courses; this is a collaboration with Dr. Laura Rios at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

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