2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Can I Be An Engineer? Factors Influencing Women’s Decisions to Pursue Undergraduate Engineering Studies in Lebanon (Fundamental)

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 13

In Lebanon, an Arab country in the Levant, different institutional and cultural factors seemingly play a significant role in influencing women’s decisions to enroll in undergraduate engineering programs. Moreover, there is a persisting discrepancy in the gender-based representation of students in specific engineering fields in the country. In this work, we aim to uncover key influences that affect young women’s decisions to pursue undergraduate engineering studies in Lebanon. First, we conducted a survey during a student-led engineering summer program in 2024 at our academic institution, which is a large research university based in Lebanon. The program aimed to introduce high school students to different engineering majors offered at our institution, in an experiential learning environment. The survey participants were 47 high school female students coming from diverse regions and backgrounds in Lebanon. The survey included open and closed-ended questions addressing gender roles, family expectations, institutional influences, and other factors that may influence young women’s decisions to major in engineering. Next, to analyze the collected and cleaned data, we adopted the grounded theory-building approach. We conducted a round of open coding, followed by focused coding. This allowed us to generate our findings inductively and directly from the raw data, and we further analyzed the former in the context of the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). We also conducted inter-rater reliability checks to bolster the research quality of our work. Our preliminary findings indicate that stereotypes, exposure to women engineers’ experiences, and the perception of certain engineering fields as male-dominated influenced women’s decisions to pursue engineering studies. Additionally, high schools, universities, the media, and governmental policies were perceived as influential factors by the female survey respondents. These diverse cultural and institutional influences seemed to impact women’s decisions to apply for and pursue undergraduate engineering studies both negatively and positively. Additionally, young women seemed to favor a major over another based on job market prospects and particular encouragement from parents and educators to justify their preferences. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings on the roles of different stakeholder entities involved in young women’s undergraduate education decisions. We also propose recommendations for high schools and university outreach programs to improve the inclusivity and appeal of undergraduate engineering programs to young women applicants in Lebanon specifically, and in the MENA region more broadly.

Authors

Rasha Malaeb American University of Beirut [biography]

Rasha Malaeb (she/her) is a Computer and Computer Engineering student at the American University of Beirut. She is a research assistant and event coordinator at the Pipeline and Mentorship Initiative at the American University of Beirut where she works on student support-projects as the Peer2Peer Mentorship . Rasha is an applicant of the Women Leader's in Engineering Full Scholarship and her research is focused on enhancing women's enrollment in Engineering at the highschool level, supporting women in their undergraduate studies and after graduation.
Dr. Elsa Maalouf American University of Beirut [biography]

Dr. Elsa Maalouf is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Energy at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She earned her doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Her work focuses on sustainable subsurface energy applications and the use of sustainable materials. She is the lead of the Pipeline and Mentorship initiative at AUB that supports women in engineering and offers mentorship to university students until after they graduate. Her current education-focused research investigates enrollment trends in engineering programs and examines how parental influence, sociopolitical factors, and cultural perceptions shape students’ decisions to pursue engineering education.
Aya Mouallem http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9360-9971 Stanford University [biography]

Aya Mouallem (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. She received a BEng in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Aya is a graduate researcher with the Designing Education Lab at Stanford, led by Professor Sheri Sheppard, and her research explores the accessibility of introductory engineering education. She co-founded All Girls Code, an award-winning initiative that supports girls in STEM in the Middle East. She is supported by the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, the RAISE Fellowship, and the DARE Fellowship.
Jana Sabra American University of Beirut [biography]

Jana Sabra (she/her) is a Research Assistant at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Energy at the American University of Beirut. She works as part of the Pipeline Initiative team under the supervision of Dr. Elsa Maalouf, contributing to research and programs that support equitable access, mentorship, and representation in STEM fields. Jana holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the American University of Beirut. She is also the Director of Communications at All Girls Code, where she leads efforts to promote STEM education and awareness among girls in Lebanon and the MENA region.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
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