COLLABORATIVE: Women's Engineering Participation in the US: What can the US Learn from Women's Decisions to Pursue Engineering in Diverse Cultural Contexts?

非技术摘要妇女参与工程是国家的一个重要优先事项。美国工程师短缺削弱了该国作为全球市场领导者的地位，并限制了我们解决基础设施挑战的能力。该项目涉及四个国家(约旦、马来西亚、沙特阿拉伯和突尼斯)的研究，以评估鼓励妇女在高等教育和职业生涯中参与工程学的背景因素。在确定的四个国家中的三个国家(约旦、马来西亚和突尼斯)，女性参与工程学的比例远远高于美国，尽管女性参与公共生活受到社会、政治和经济方面的限制。在第四个国家(沙特阿拉伯)，妇女参与工程工作的比例也在上升。该项目试图通过研究妇女参与STEM的驱动因素，了解文化背景与扩大妇女参与STEM之间的联系。这项研究意义重大，因为它承诺记录鼓励女性在与美国截然不同的社会、政治和文化背景下成功参与STEM的因素。这些对妇女成功的探索，反过来有望更广泛地阐明背景如何塑造妇女参与STEM的方式，从而为我们扩大在美国的参与提供信息。技术摘要妇女的参与是工程技术是一个关键的国家优先事项。美国工程师短缺削弱了该国作为全球市场领导者的地位，并限制了我们解决基础设施挑战的能力。该项目需要在四个国家(约旦、马来西亚、沙特阿拉伯和突尼斯)进行研究，以评估鼓励妇女在高等教育和职业生涯中参与工程学的背景因素。在确定的四个国家中的三个国家(约旦、马来西亚和突尼斯)，女性参与工程学的比例远远高于美国，尽管女性参与公共生活受到社会、政治和经济方面的限制。在第四个国家(沙特阿拉伯)，妇女参与工程工作的比例也在上升。该项目试图通过研究妇女参与STEM的经济、教育、社会文化、法律和政治驱动因素，了解文化背景与扩大妇女参与STEM之间的联系。本项目将应用案例研究方法，从焦点小组收集丰富的数据，并对每个国家的女性工程学本科生、教职员工和执业工程师(总计N=208-325)进行深入访谈。这项研究意义重大，因为它承诺记录鼓励女性在与美国截然不同的社会、政治和文化背景下成功参与STEM的因素。通过对女性课程和职业选择的跨国深入探索，以及对产生性别差异课程和职业决定的机制的关注，该项目有望更广泛地揭示背景如何塑造女性成功参与STEM的方式，从而为我们扩大在美国的参与提供参考。

Non-technical AbstractWomen's participation in engineering is a crucial national priority. The shortage of engineers in the US weakens the country's position as a leader in the global market and restricts our capacity to solve infrastructural challenges. This project involves research in four countries (Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia) to assess the contextual factors that encourage women's participation in engineering in tertiary education and as a career. In three of the four countries identified (Jordan, Malaysia, and Tunisia), women's participation in engineering is much higher than in the US, despite social, political, and economic restrictions on women's participation in public life. In the fourth country (Saudi Arabia), women's engineering participation is also on the rise. This project seeks to understand the links between cultural context and expanding women's STEM participation by studying the drivers of women's participation in these contexts. The research is significant because it promises to document factors that encourage women's successful participation in STEM in social, political, and cultural contexts that are very different from the US. These explorations of women's success, in turn, promise to shed light more generally on how context shapes women's participation in STEM in ways that inform our efforts to broaden participation in the US.Technical AbstractWomen's participation is engineering is a crucial national priority. The shortage of engineers in the US weakens the country's position as a leader in the global market and restricts our capacity to solve infrastructural challenges. This project entails conducting research in four countries (Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia) to assess the contextual factors that encourage women's participation in engineering in tertiary education and as a career. In three of the four countries identified (Jordan, Malaysia, and Tunisia), women's participation in engineering is much higher than in the US, despite social, political, and economic restrictions on women's participation in public life. In the fourth country (Saudi Arabia), women's engineering participation is also rising. This project seeks to understand the links between cultural context and expanding women's STEM participation by studying the economic, educational, socio-cultural, legal, and political drivers of women's participation in these contexts. This project will apply case study methods to collect rich data from focus groups and in-depth interviews in each country with female engineering undergraduate students, faculty members, and practicing engineers (total N=208-325). The research is significant because it promises to document factors that encourage women's successful participation in STEM in social, political, and cultural contexts that are very different from the US. With its cross-national, in-depth exploration of women's curricular and career choices and its attention to mechanisms producing gender-differentiated curricular and career decisions, this project promises to shed light more generally on how context shapes women's successful participation in STEM in ways that inform our efforts to broaden participation in the US.