2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

FYWES- First Year Women Engineering Student Perspectives and Reflections

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented need for engineers. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the proportion of women engineering graduates remain stagnant around 20% from 2012 to 2022, although most studies collectively show that women have more multitasking skills, empathy, attention to detail, and bring diverse perspectives and creativity to the workforce. A general consensus for this disparity in enrolment is that traditionally, engineering sector is perceived as a male-dominated area. And literature shows that, women in engineering feel underrepresented, and also experience microaggression in the workplace. To understand more about this perception, and associated bias, in this study we will focus on the first-year women engineering students to understand their social and academic experiences, challenges faced, peer and faculty support, and factors affecting the choice of their engineering major after the first year. Additionally, the study will also look into the percentage of first-year women engineering students dropping out or changing to a non-engineering major. The study will include survey responses from first-year women engineering students and also general information from first-year engineering program. We believe that this pioneering study will enhance our understanding of factors influencing first-year women engineering students, enabling us to develop targeted strategies that support their academic success, increase retention rates, and ultimately improve graduation outcomes across all engineering majors.