2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Keywords: LGBTQIA+, Engineering, Undergraduate, Gender

Despite broader efforts to increase diversity and inclusion on college campuses, the climate in engineering remains chilly and unwelcoming for marginalized students. Due to this, engineering remains dominated by white, heterosexual, cisgender men. In order to create meaningful change within the field of engineering, we must first understand the experiences of students and the structures that drive marginalization in engineering. While there have been many studies focused on women and people of color in engineering, only in the last decade have researchers looked at LGBTQ+ students. These studies demonstrate a hypermasculine environment where students feel pressure to pass and conform to heteronormative expectations in engineering. Crucially, many of the published studies focus on lesbian, gay, and bisexual students while the unique experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) students have been largely unstudied. Unlike other members of the LGBTQ+ community, TGNC students have unique healthcare needs, are generally less accepted by the public, and face direct attacks on their rights from state and national legislatures. Therefore, the unique needs and experiences of these students must be studied to make real change within engineering. To address this, we have conducted a case study of a white, transgender, neurodivergent woman who is a 4th year undergraduate aerospace engineering major at a large university in the south. From this case the experience of isolation as well as hypermasculine competitiveness, and the mental health cost of engineering were prominent themes. Additionally, this student discusses her experiences masking both her neurodivergence and her queerness within academic in industry spaces. Finally, this student was able to provide a highly unique and nuanced perspective on the culture of engineering, as she began her transition after her second year. This allowed her to reflect on the way her changing outward presentation affected her experiences in engineering spaces. Although this case study only discusses the experiences of one TGNC engineering student, this student provided a rich example of the challenges that come from navigating engineering as a transgender woman.