2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper examines the motivations, perceptions, and experiences of men faculty who identify as allies for undergraduate women in engineering. As men represent the majority in engineering, efforts to create socially just, equitable cultures for women will not be successful if men are not included. There is limited, extant literature on the insights and experiences of active men allies in engineering. However, research demonstrates that faculty can impact issues that adversely affect women’s interest and persistence, like those experienced in engineering. To address the lack of research on men faculty allies in engineering, this study sought to examine the following research question: How and in what ways do the efforts of men faculty allies towards gender equity manifest in their daily work within their disciplines?

Data presented in this paper were collected as part of a larger qualitative, case study with 31 men STEM faculty, of which 12 were in engineering disciplines. The data were collected through interviews, which sought to capture participants’ motivations for serving as allies, examples of how they serve as such, and the ways in which their ally status affected relationships. Data analysis was conducted using both inductive and deductive coding.

Findings demonstrate that participants in this study possessed a number of shared characteristics, including an awareness of the additional barriers that women must navigate and recognition of the importance of building relationships with undergraduate women, both of which seem to be beneficial in allyship efforts. Further, while allies understood that their role as advocates evolved and developed over time, many participants exhibited an uncertainty around how best to engage others in gender equity work, which strategies to implement, and the potential efficacy of their efforts.

Allies also discussed the enactment of both informal methods and strategies that they institutionalize either in courses, within their departments, or at their institutions. The informal strategies described by allies are typically actions engaged in on a regular basis and occur daily in many of my participants’ lives. Men also shared a variety of more formal approaches to demonstrating allyship, the implementation and systemization of which often require more intention and commitment. Results from this study can be used to inform training and education so that the efforts of men faculty allies can be better leveraged, as they attempt to create more equitable engineering environments for women undergraduate students.