Exploring Intersectionality and Engineering Identity: Understanding Women's Belonging and Retention in Engineering

Research on the factors influencing women's interest, persistence, and retention in engineering has predominantly focused on gender as the central identity. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that other intersecting identities, such as race, class, ethnicity, and disability, can exacerbate feelings of exclusion and marginalisation for already disadvantaged groups. Coupled with persistently low access and retention rates, this highlights the need to reconsider the issue of women's underrepresentation in engineering. This paper presents findings from a qualitative research study conducted at the University of Leeds, which explores the intersection between women's sense of belonging and engineering identity through an intersectional lens. The results provide new insights into the development of women's engineering identity, revealing that despite feeling 'othered', women engineering students reported a strong self-perception of their engineering identity. The analysis of access and retention factors in engineering demonstrates the critical importance of contextualizing women's lived experiences, shaped by their intersecting identities. Reducing women's experiences to gender alone, while neglecting other aspects of their identities, risks reinforcing existing inequities and exacerbating gaps in representation and retention. The findings further highlight the risks of essentialising women's lived experiences in engineering, as shared intersectional identities do not necessarily equate to similar lived experiences.