No universal constants: journeys of women in engineering

Statistics are generally used to identify and address needs such as the inclusion of more women and minorities in engineering. In this paper, the authors synthesize the experiences of thirty-six engineers and six computer scientists in order to understand some of the positive and negative factors in these women's lives, and explore ways of teaching and advising in engineering schools that would allow the increasingly diverse student population to be better served. The students who reach college are a select group who have overcome the early barriers and are set on a potential track to becoming an engineer. College advisors and teachers need to reaffirm the methods and thinking these students have evolved, but which may be challenged by the system based on a "normative student" model. The authors present a theory that begins to explore these aspects.