Dilemmas of girls and women in engineering: a study in Portugal

The reason that girls and women withdraw from science and technology
education and careers has been a universal concern in the social sciences. This
study investigated how gendered constructions of identity are translated into the
barriers and fears that female students and professional women experience in
decision-making about their careers. We conducted interviews with 63 girls and
39 women in academic and professional engineering careers, focusing on their
interpersonal relationships with boys and men in their school and occupational
engineering settings, respectively. Participant discourse highlighted the difficulties women face when managing the antagonistic discourses of femininity and
masculinity in a social environment in which they are frequently forced to
submit to hegemonic masculinity. The consequences of women’s differing discourses about the “masculine world” and the “feminine world” are discussed,
and some strategies for creating more equalitarian relational environments in
school and work settings are discussed.
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)