Effects of Technological Change on Roles of Women and Ideas of Gender
Effects of Technological Change on Roles of Women and Ideas of Gender
In the last three decades, there has been an impressive rise in the number of women earning degrees in engineering, science, and technology disciplines. The growth tends to conceal other characteristics of the science and technology workforce demography. For instance, it masks the decrease in the number of white US men in the fields over recent decades despite they had been dominating the engineering, science, and technology workforce in the United States. However, by trying to balance the numbers, women are now earning more master’s degrees than men.
A 2007 National Science Foundation report affirms that in 2004, US women earned approximately 58 percent of all bachelor’s degrees and 59 percent of all master’s degrees in all fields (Laurence). In 2000, US females earned more bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering fields than men did, although they earned nearly 44 percent of the master’s degrees in the same fields. In 2004, US women received approximately 61 percent of PhD degrees in sectors other than science and engineering while receiving roughly 45 percent of PhD in science and engineering (Laurence).
The majority of the women who receive PhD in science leave right after they commence with academic employment. They exit the workforce due to certain obstacles that prevent them from continuing in the field or from realizing their full potential as professionals. While some of the barriers are new, Rosser documents that obstacles from three decades ago still linger, but taking the form of different, behavior, language, and structure (Rosser).
The answer to the question why women exit the science, engineering, and technology workforce is not genetic nature or a lack of interest; otherwise, female students would underachieve their male colleagues in colleges. Existing data reveals the contrary: women outdo men in academics and graduate at a higher rate, while having a better attitude towards studies (Jhon, Lee S, & Lee K). Statistical research and case studies concerning those two critical factors are noticeable among the various forces driving women to exit the science, engineering, and technology workforce: the requirement to balance family and career and the lack of proficient networks (Jhon).
Marriage and family come with responsibilities that can shorten a flourishing career of both men and female engineers and scientists. J. Scott Long, a sociologist and statistician, argues in his book that single men and women contribute equally to the science, engineering, and technology workforce (Long). However, a married female with a PhD has a 13 percent less chance of being employed than a married man with equivalent credentials (Long). Moreover, if the woman has young children, she stands a 30 percent less chance of being employed than a single man (Long).
Females’ biological nature is often a cause of the dwindling numbers of qualified women in the workforce. Numerous studies documented women’s tussle to balance family and career life. In a 2004 survey conducted by Rosser, for instance, reveals that of the 450 female engineers and scientists working in research universities, over 70 percent mentioned the mounting pressure they had in trying to strike the balance between family and career (Rosser). They further admitted that this was their primary challenge faced towards attaining professional advancement (Rosser).
Today’s technology has, on the one hand, eased the pressures faced by women in science, engineering, and technology sectors, while, on the other hand, even worsened the situation. Many higher education institutions are revising and improving their policies in response to the global focus on women’s involvement in science, as well as the shortages in science, engineering, and technology workforce due to the security measures launched after September 11, 2001 (Rossiter). The security measures made it hard for skilled non-US workers to acquire US visas. To attract and retain more women to high-tech entrepreneurship and science, there is the need to transform the culture of science and technology into a more family-friendly and inviting venture.
Owing to technological advancements, science, engineering, and technology departments in universities in the United States are incorporating finance, marketing, and management business training programs into graduate education. The increased advancement in technology has forced tech employers seek for employees who are refined in leadership, project management, and business skills. Women often did not receive such mentoring in graduate school, but technology has accelerated the need for training programs, which would eventually help a smoother transition of females into the science, engineering, and technology workforce (Rossiter).
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