An Exploration of Barriers Female Engineers Face in the Workplace

The global focus to attract more females to the engineering profession and oil and gas companies are of paramount importance. There is a dire need to train and cultivate female engineers to increase economic advancement and innovation. Worldwide, the demand for those equipped with engineering expertise exceeds the talent pool pipeline. Despite laws enacted to mitigate gender discrimination, implicit gender bias persists in the workplace. Correspondingly, these challenges permeate against a backdrop of a crippling shortage of qualified engineers, and the high number of those who will retire within the next decade. To power future engineering and energy projects, it will require educators, policymakers, industry leaders, and philanthropists alike working collaboratively to infuse effective strategies that are drivers for pipelining talented female engineers. While the body of knowledge is extant around the shortage of women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, the management literature has gaps regarding strategies successful female engineers employ to lead rewarding careers. The purpose of this research informed by Bandura’s (1986) Self-Efficacy Theory is to understand the beliefs, attitudes, and outcome expectations of successful female engineers who experience barriers in the workplace.