Experiences And Career Choices Of Female Engineering Undergraduates In China

It is a global issue that the 'pipeline' leading to STEM occupations begins to 'leak' after graduation from STEM subjects, and the leakage tends to be much more severer for women. This study adds to current discussions on the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, emphasizing the roles of gender and family engineering social capital in the career choices of female engineering students in China. The study follows an explanatory mixed-methods research design including a survey and interviews. The survey was completed by 508 Chinese engineering undergraduates at Chinese universities and created a quantitative descriptive landscape that situates the qualitative element of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 female engineering newly graduates to explain the underneath complexities of the quantitative discourse. Descriptive analysis of the survey data shows that women students, on average, tend to report higher engineering agency and more positive university experiences, but a weaker desire to pursue an engineering profession than men. This inconsistency can be partly explained by the qualitative finding that the hegemony of Confucianism shapes the specific gender norms towards engineering profession in China. Qualitative data also suggest that it is the “craze for Master's degrees” in China that drives a number of women participants to take an MSc in engineering with the intention to work outside this field. However, having a family member working in engineering tends to provide overarching guidance for female engineering undergraduates to continue with an engineering profession.