Promotion stereotypes in the engineering industry

Abstract

This paper draws on four bodies of literature to examine the phenomenon of slow progression for female engineers up the corporate ladder. Participants in my study consist of male engineers who have been in this field for at least a year. Results show that the reasons why these women are facing difficulty in getting promoted include long, hectic and stressful workload juxtaposed with the family responsibilities that they have to undertake. In addition, the idea of a “male design” in engineering, protecting and continuing the ‘old-boy network’, and the social structures that shape how an individual should behave also contribute to the slow advancement for a women’s career in engineering. Nevertheless, companies also try to take an objective approach such as measuring the employee’s performance level before deciding if he/she deserves to get promoted.